Today
“This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24
There’s something about spring that always wakes up and enlivens my heart to the goodness of God. Maybe it’s the bright blue skies and 70 degree weather. Maybe it’s the feeling of sun on my skin or flowers bursting on every bush and tree, but something happens right in the thick of April where I’m more awake to my own spirit and the goodness of God than I normally am in the cold, dark winter months.
This April I had a baby, and while I was waiting for her to arrive, I picked up one of my favorite books from the shelf. Shauna Niequist’s Cold Tangerines has lived in a prominent place on every bookshelf in every home I’ve lived in the last twelve years. It’s severely, embarrassingly so, dog-eared and underlined. And what I love the most about this book is its unique ability to point me towards God and His glory flowing through my life. Similar to the way the blooms of spring wake up my heart, the words of this book have woken me up again.
I’m finding in this season that this is the way I want to live: like Psalm 118:24 is not a sentimental statement but a rallying cry for every season of my life. On good days and bad days, I want my heart to rejoice in the goodness of God and the way He continues to show up in my life. I want to be glad for the people and things He has blessed me with, the way my life is unfolding whether or not it matches the dream board in my mind.
I want to have eyes to see His goodness and His glory from morning to evening, all throughout my ordinary suburban life. I don’t want to miss Him thinking that I need mountain top moments or picture perfect circumstances in order to feel His presence. I don’t want to miss it because I’ve spent the day scrolling, wishing for things I don’t have.
I think Shauna says it better than I could rephrase it, so I’ll leave you with this encouragement from a chapter titled “On Waiting”. May it open your eyes to the goodness of God in your own ordinary life, and may you find yourself rejoicing and glad for even a moment today:
“I choose to believe that there is nothing more sacred or profound than this day. I choose to believe that there may be a thousand big moments embedded in this day, waiting to be discovered like tiny shards of gold. The big moments are the daily, tiny moments of courage and forgiveness and hope that we grab on to and extend to one another. That’s the drama of life, swirling all around us, and generally I don’t even see it, because I’m too busy waiting to become whatever it is I think I am about to become […] Your life, right now, today, is exploding with energy and power and detail and dimension, better than the best movie you have ever seen […] You have stories worth telling, memories worth remember, dreams worth working toward, a body worth feeding, a soul worth tending, and beyond that, the God of the universe dwells within you, the true culmination of super and natural.
You are more than dust and bones. You are spirit and power and image of God. And you have been given Today.”