This is the day

This is the day

Today is a rainy, dreary Monday. Which means, a lot of coffee, and a lot of the mundane.  The normal, mundane days are the toughest to me. I love change and I love a little bit of chaos. I get that not everyone is like that. I have observed others that thrive in simplicity and slowness and these people amaze me. For me, the flutter of activity proves useful in working with teenagers’ fast pace lives, but in the slowness of mothering little children, sometimes my impatience gets the best of me.

My love of change and constant activity leaves me fighting to be content in the mundane. As my primary job is to be a mom, there is a lot of normalcy. My life consists of routines like folding laundry, cleaning house, nap time, and playing with cars. I tend to look for things around my home, marriage, friends etc to create my own chaos/change. You can imagine how much this can come back to bite me in the rear end.

Recently, I had a stretch of days when I was discontent in almost all areas of my life. It started when I was frustrated that I still cannot fit into my pre baby clothes. Then, I quickly spiraled down to frustrations in my work, my family and my house. It was like the enemy was reminding me of all the areas of my life that were still a hot mess. Most of these messes, I created. After a few days of being grumpy and allowing my list of wants to completely consume my mind, a good friend gently reminded me that we will not be fully content until we see our creator face to face in Heaven.

Heaven, the place where there is no sickness, no brokenness, no sorrow and where we are made complete in His image. CS Lewis said “If we find our self with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” This is the joy we have as believers. The promise that this world is not all that we have. We get to look forward to completeness, fullness, and eternity with Jesus Christ… just writing about this makes my heart skip a beat! When we keep our eyes on heaven, we live our lives differently.

We were created to long for God, but we are so tempted to try to fill this longing with temporary fixes that do not satisfy. Only in heaven will we fully understand the satisfaction we were created to know. But in the meantime, God still offers us daily doses of satisfaction in Him.

After a few days of being a grumpy wife, mom, and friend, the Lord in his Grace reminded me of several things.  Although the things I desire are not yet made perfect, He has given me THIS day to abide in Him, and be obedient to the things he has called me to today. Although,I am not yet complete, I am more complete in Him today than I was yesterday. That is worth celebrating. This is the day I have been given. All of the things that are not yet complete, do not matter, because the things I have today are the things God wants to use to change me, use me, and mold me more into His likeness. Today is exactly the day God wants for me.

Today on this rainy Monday, I have the opportunity to be obedient to the small ordinary things the Lord has called me to, like laundry, grocery shopping, calling a friend to check in, getting on my knees to pray, and fighting to be present with my children. Andy Stanley writes that small deposits of consistency over time will accumulate. These small ordinary tasks might feel mundane, but showing up and being obedient to what God has put in front of me over a long amount of time will create impact. Neglecting the ordinary, daily things God has called me to over time, equally has impact.

By His grace, and through the overwhelming love of God in me, I am able to look face to face with the things that are not the way I want them to be, and believe that I am not yet finished. All I am called to is today. Today I can choose to remember how truly loved I am by the God of the universe, and choose to obey what he has put in front of me today.

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118: 24

The change I am so anxious to see happens in the daily tasks. God has always been more concerned about the process, and not the end result. The end result is known. We are promised we will be made complete when we see Jesus face to face. So, today… I have to trust the process.

Are there things in your life you wish were different?

What do you have in front of you today, that seem tedious or overwhelming?

What part of your life do you need to trust the process, and believe that God has a plan?

How are you thankful that TODAY is the day God has given you?