New Day vs. Another Day
“You are children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the darkness.” 1 Thessalonians 5:5
Good Morning! It’s a chilly Monday that kind of started out just like another day, but an hour in it’s starting to feel like a new day! My morning practice helped me reset, so let me share.
I have slept a little better the last few nights, but I wake up each morning with a headache in the area of my brain tumor. It’s kind of funny how I tend to wake up and initially start to think about what day it is and what is my schedule like. I think when’s my first appointment? It only takes a few minutes for reality to hit and my headache slowly reminds me, “ Dude you have a brain tumor-you are not going to work today!” My bigger challenge is I start thinking, “You may never go back to work.” “Your headaches are going to get worse.” All of the big unknowns start gaining some power, and I can get out of bed almost dreading today while heading down a very negative path.
On a positive note, I do the same thing every morning and have for years. I go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, let Gracie out of her kennel, water, feed her, and then start water while I weigh my coffee beans, grind them and make coffee with my Chemex pour-over. Once I have finished my coffee which takes about 15 minutes, I go sit down, do my bible reading and journal. There is something very helpful in my day to day process to start this way each day. It worked beautifully this morning.
By the time I finished making coffee, I was headed to a negative place. It’s Monday and I am realizing it’s another week of no work, surgery tomorrow all the unknowns that we are facing, woe is me, blah blah blah!!!! I sit down and take my first sip of coffee, which is always amazing. There’s a fun idea…If I can’t do counseling any more, maybe I will open a mobile coffee shop and make wonderful coffee for people each day! Sorry I get easily sidetracked. I open my bible app and start reading. The first few chapters are ok but nothing special then I get to the last chapter and boom! God’s word begins to speak some truth and life into me.
Here is my reality. Sometimes over the years, I study scripture to teach it and look at it much more from a scholarly perspective. In my morning time, I read it asking God to speak some truth into me about who He is and who I am as His. Those are kind of two different processes. Today I read, “You are all children of light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or the darkness.” I sat with that sentence for a minute and re-read. “Children of the day,” and it reminded me that God has given me today. It reminded and helped me get back into my mindfulness practice. I can worry about tomorrow, next week, many things that are concerning but many things out of my control. What I have is today and today matters! The next big idea is, I can’t live vs 8 if I don’t get into today. “ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”
There were several big ideas in this text but one last big idea for me this morning. Vs 11, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” What a beautiful reminder! When I can begin in a healthy way to focus on others, build others up, encourage them, help them feel seen and understood, my day goes much better. It doesn’t change my reality of having a brain tumor, surgery and uncertainty. It absolutely reminds me I am not alone. I have people who care about me and for years people have given me the beautiful gift of walking with them for a while in their pain and uncertainty.
My mindset shifts to all the things that I am grateful for. A beautiful wife, children that continue to amaze me, an incredible granddaughter and a grandson on the way. A wonderful cup of coffee, Gracie, who is turning into my therapy dog, and some opportunity to encourage someone else today who is going through something difficult and painful.
So…. if that is you today. Can I simply remind you that you are loved and of great value? Your pain and suffering is real. But please remember your life matters. Find something today that you are grateful for and find some simple way to encourage someone else. Go have a beautiful day! That is absolutely now my plan.
Peace,