The first thing I noticed when I looked out the window today was powder, as though someone had gleefully shaken a giant sifter across the yard.
Welcome to March in Missouri, where one wears a favorite summer blouse one day and needs a winter coat the next.
Today is definitely a winter coat kind of day. I know, thanks to science teachers from my school days, that the sun is shining… somewhere. Here, the day is gray and gloomy, like the pictures I see on my news feeds. So much sickness and sadness, discouragement and distress; any good news is overshadowed by predictions of doom and gloom. Wars and rumors of war, runaway inflation, continued stress from two years of COVID; there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.
On this gray, winter coat worthy day, I opened my devotional and read that every day is a gift. Indeed, today is a gift of life on this earth that many I know will not experience. Not everyone lives to be a ripe old age. As I see things, far too many parents live years and milestones that their children will never experience. Far too many children experience the major events of their lives without the wisdom and presence of a beloved parent.
But God does not see things as I see them. I read further to find a reminder that this day is a day that the Lord made. The author calls upon the words of the Psalmist to encourage readers to rejoice and be glad. I think surely, if the Psalmist could sit in my chair and read today’s news, he would agree there’s little to rejoice about. Then I must remember; although no name appears on Psalm 118, the likely author was King David. He had spent many dreary days running from the rage and range of his angry, jealous predecessor.
The human mind wants to associate rejoicing with happiness, with how one feels. But I truly believe the Psalmist’s words imply something deeper and more lasting. In the New Testament, the apostle Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to always rejoice, always pray, always give thanks. I find no indication that Paul, who faced a multitude of challenges and threats during his ministry, limited his encouragement to only days of the reader’s liking.
The words of Psalm 118 appear often in my devotional readings. I hear them in sermons, I see them on my news feeds. I have quoted them in worship services and written about them in my blog postings. Without hesitation, I will say that some days are simply not good from any human perspective. More often than I like to admit, I struggle to look beyond concerns and challenges.
Still, there are gifts apparent on this day, things for which I can be thankful. My eyes see the birds at our feeders spread their fabulous wings to fly. My mind knows there is wondrous intricacy in the snowflakes that wreak havoc for pedestrians and morning commuters. I have what I need to be fed, clothed, and protected. The things I take for granted could be an answer to someone else’s prayer. A day I label “not good” could be the best day in weeks for one carrying burdens far greater than mine.
All of this was still on my mind as I checked a weather app for today’s forecast. As I read the forecast aloud to my husband, I scrolled across a section I hadn’t noticed before, labeled Outdoor Conditions. One of the entries caught my attention, and I chuckled as I told my husband, “At least there are no mosquitoes.”
The day will come soon enough when the “Mosquito Index” will again register activity. Those airborne pests will be followed by another dread neighbor, the copperhead snake. But those days also bring butterflies and wildflowers, leafy trees and green grass, bright sunshine and more daylight hours. As long as we live and breathe we will have times of headache and heartache, trial and tribulation. But I do believe, with the Lord’s help, I can find something on any day to give me a reason to be thankful and rejoice.
Even if that something is the lack of mosquitoes.
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