I remember not that long ago when I was getting up early to go to work and would groan that I had to get up so early and prepare for another day teaching teens who were less than enthusiastic about learning. I remember that in high school, I was happy to get up early and head to school to see my friends. You see, it is just the perspective that we have. Do we have something to look forward to each day? Now that I have reached my “silver years” I am still an early riser, but I don’t get up complaining about a new day. I am happy to have a new day to face, no matter what the challenges are. They say that with age comes wisdom; with my aging has come the acknowledgement that I need to appreciate life because it is fleeting. I recall being a military wife and moving to one base after the other, facing the challenges of finding schools for the children, getting a new teaching certificate and looking for a new job. So many challenges! And, yes, I remember complaining and wishing that my husband’s career would just be over. Did I really know what I was wishing for? Of course not! I just wanted what I thought would be an easier life for me. But wishing for things that are not likely to happen is a waste of time and not focusing on the present. Alice Morse Earle said it this way: “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.” More and more, I am seeing each day as a gift from God and looking around to open that present and what He has in store for me.

We are to take delight in the entire day. Yes, there will be bad things that come along, but the Scripture says that mostly they are just smoke. Do you know what happens to smoke? It’s there and then it just disappears as if it were never there at all. My fretting about my upcoming surgery isn’t going to change anything. Unless God steps in and miraculously heals me, the surgery is inevitable. So, I am taking each day as it comes and thanking God that I am still alive to enjoy the day, the time with my children and grandchildren, even if it’s only via videos, pictures and texts. Oh, how thankful I am for technology since I am at a distance from many of my loved ones! I am happy to get up early and to start a new day, knowing that God has something special in that day for me to do or to learn, maybe even for me to reach out to someone else. I am choosing to be delighted in each hour that I have, not complaining about what I have to go through, but rather looking for the good in it. If God wants me to have surgery, then I am confident that He will be with me the whole way. This surgery is a major affair, so I am not taking it lightly, particularly since my friend at church went through the same procedure in December and ended up passing away after a week in a medically induced coma. Of course, Barbara’s demise is on my mind, but I am choosing instead to focus on the present. Today is the day that the Lord has made! I want to be the best that I can be for Him today, because He is always there for me, every hour of every day.

When Morning Gilds the Skies

I was reminded of this old favorite hymn in my devotional this morning. Each day is a new day to praise the Lord, so no matter what we face, we have been given a new day. Each new day is a gift. Open it, and see what the Lord has for you this day! Blessings!