This is the Day

I woke up with this in my head today - "This is the day the Lord hath made;

we will rejoice and be glad in it" is a well-known verse from Psalm 118:24

Now did this make me feel reverent and in awe of the miracle of a day at all? No. All I could respond with was…. Yeah… great day(sarcasm). It’s cold, and I have a mother in bed to care for all day long, and a week’s worth of emails to do because I have been a slug due to the cold, and it will be a day race to stay ahead of my dog to get her outside before she pees. And as I was thinking all this, walking to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, splat… there was the first race and I had lost. And so I continued with my sarcastic soliloquy in my head as I cleaned up the pee.

It takes a special kind of someone to be sarcastic to God at no provocation of His own, don’t you think? But that’s me. And He made me, so I don’t’ think He’s much surprised.

And to reciprocate, my guardian angel, who says his name is Ignatius, has a sharp tongue and wit about himself as well. And he’s been silent for a while but recently has popped back into the picture.

And as I am grumbling and using my favorite word over and over, I hear him pop in and say… “Tell me, can you make a day at all, much less one that is better?”

Uh oh. I wanted to say something sarcastic back but I knew from experiences that wouldn’t get me far. Ignatius is one of the few beings I have never won a debate or argument with. So I don’t even try any more. After all, to continue to do so would be the ultimate definition of insanity. And I’m not insane. Or am I? After all, I am talking to a 30 foot angel in my kitchen. Wish he cooked at least.

So what is this day that the Lord has made? I turned to the angel who doesn’t fit in my house and asked? He said, stand still and tell me what you hear, see and feel.

Still not going to argue with him so I did. The house was quiet. Hey, that’s new. It’s usually got dogs barking or people talking at me or phones ringing wanting to know my age so they can sell me some insurance. People who make those calls are not from the south. You never ask a person their age.

I had a cup of coffee in my hand and I was out of cream so this cup was lightened with evaporated milk. One of my favorite tastes. And this cup was fresh and hot and delicious. So now I have quiet and delicious.

It’s cold outside and my gig has cancelled. A loss of income but I don’t have to get out in the cold and drive and risk slippery roads. So I now have quiet and delicious and warm and safe.

Ok, so I get it. We used to call this reframes. Reframes are a way to connect to God’s blessings, in the wake of storms and unhappiness.

Ok, so I am not rejoicing, BUT I am finding out I can be glad enough not to grumble. And for today, that counts. I’m learning that glad doesn’t have to be loud or shiny—it can be quiet and steady and minding its own business in the kitchen.

Glad enough sounds like warmth instead of bitterness. It is a sigh of relief and a moment to relax. It looks like safety instead of haste. It tastes like a good cup of coffee when the house is still and nobody needs anything from me for five blessed minutes.

Maybe that’s what this verse is really asking of me—not forced joy, not fake praise, but a willingness to stop arguing long enough to notice the gifts already sitting in my hands. And if I can do that—if I can hush the grumbling just a notch—then maybe I am honoring the day the Lord has made after all.

And if tomorrow I wake up sarcastic again, well… God’s already proven He can handle that too.