The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Life!

January 2, 2009

Rain or shine, every day is a blessing

Bev Davis

This week, we were asked to turn in our requests for vacation and personal time in 2009.

It’s hard to plan that far in advance. Last year, I was granted all the days I requested. However, every single day I picked was rainy, humid, cold or snowy. As I was preparing my wish list for 2009, I found myself praying that I would pick days with nice weather.

As I sorted through months, weeks and days, I thought about fortune tellers and people who say they would like to predict what the future holds.

I’m glad I can’t see what’s ahead. Oh, it would be nice to know about a financial windfall, a wonderful serendipity of some kind or the emergence of a vibrant new relationship with someone.

Knowing the future, however, has a definite downside. I would not like to know in advance about the death of a loved one, a diagnosis of a serious illness, a tragedy of some kind or a tremendous loss.

I believe the Lord in His infinite wisdom doles out our days. I don’t know about you, but 24 hours are about as much as I can handle in one fell swoop.

What I fail to do many times is to savor each day, accepting the good and the bad as part of this incredible experience we call life.

The unpredictability develops my faith and forces me to trust the will and the character of God. I can count on Him to take what seems like a bad circumstance and turn it around for good.

Having a mixture of easy days and hard ones makes me appreciate the breezy days more and gives me time to store up the energy to face the ones that are more difficult.

As I get older, I better understand Jesus’ words, “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” In other words, every day presents its own special challenges. We don’t need to be trying to take on tomorrow’s burdens until we have carried today’s blessings.

Regardless of what a day holds, every day is a good day. The truth expressed in Psalms 118:24 holds true, no matter what. “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Regardless of what happens, I can rejoice in the Lord who made it and value its troubles as much as its triumphs. The bitter and the sweet hold their unique lessons and treasures.

Whether it rains or shines on my vacation days, I’m glad I don’t have to live each of those days until the time comes. Today is a gift, and I will do my best to live it to the fullest.

I plan to do the same with all the days that follow. Whether they are wrapped in sunshine or shadow, I’ll graciously accept them and savor them — one at a time.

— E-mail:

bdavis@register-herald.com

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Life!