The song says it well: “This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.” The quotation is from Psalm 118:24. We recite the verse in unison each Sunday as we begin worship at the Park Plaza church.
A travel ad from a couple of years ago, an ad sponsored by one of my favorite states, reminded us that we only get to experience and enjoy about 25000 mornings in a lifetime. According to the ad, at least some of them should be spent in Michigan, because Michigan mornings are memorable. I have spent about 4000 mornings in Michigan, but today I am thinking spiritually not geographically. This is the day the Lord has made. How many of my 25000 (plus or minus) mornings will be memorable?
What mornings do I remember? Early mornings in Grandma’s kitchen with the aroma of sausage cooking, awake well before dawn because milking chores were waiting. Beginning vacation in the wee hours of the morn so we could travel in the cool (referring to the days before auto AC!). Our last day of family vacation in Rocky Mountain National Park with a morning hike to Emerald Lake, up and back before 6 A.M. The quietness of a Latin American city before most are awake and moving (except the roosters). There are many more….
What days would you mention? Which have been the coldest ones? the hottest? the most refreshing? the most unusual?
Which mornings have brought you closest to God? When have you marveled at God’s nature? at God’s sunrise? at the rain? at the snow? at your sleeping son or daughter?
Another saying I have picked up along the way is “carpe diem”–often translated “seize the day”. Days happen, but what one puts into each day is a choice. Let me fill this day well, because it is a gift from God!