Each Day is a Gift

 

As I rounded the corner at the neighborhood park, the day was ending beautifully. But I thought of how strange it is that there are some days that we wish would never end, and there are some days that we feel can’t end quickly enough.

Days of time spent with those we love, in the company of special friends and family we hold dear, these are the days that fly too fast away. Days of peace and calm, of laughter and joy, if only they could last just a few hours more. Days of disappointment and pain, of illness and grief, these can seem to never end. Life has its share of both, and we all know that each day is equal in hours. It is the experience of the day that makes all the difference.

All our experiences take place in the context of this marking of time. Good days. Bad days. Days of loss and pain. Days full of what will become precious memories. They all begin with the rising of the sun and begin to wind down in the setting. There are aspects of each day over which we have control. There are some which are beyond.

But each day is a gift of life. Each day is an opportunity to love, to serve, to experience something beyond ourselves. We can live each day with purpose, even the hard days, if we live in an awareness of the God who gives us each day.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Peace.