It occurs to me today as I title this post, that although the Corona virus still dictates our daily lives, it no longer dominates our daily headlines.  Another voice has drowned it out for the time being.  Another issue has taken Corona’s place, one that holds us captive with curfews, one that has held us captive in more subtle ways for over a century.

Racial injustice continues to be exposed but needs to be eradicated from our country.  Justice is supposed to be color blind or it is not justice at all.  It is not justice for all.  Our Declaration of Independence guarantees each one of us those “unalienable rights” given to us by God not government, of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Because these rights are God given, no government should deny any of us those rights –  rights rightfully bestowed by our Creator when He made us in His image. We need to remember the self-evident truth that “all men are created equal.”  We are equal in God’s eyes and it’s His perfect vision of us that should dictate how we see ourselves, how we see each other and how we see this world.

Unfortunately, our vision is short sighted and too often clouded with our own prejudices and preconceptions.  God’s take on our situation is very clear, however. In 1 John 4:19-21 we read,

“We love because He first loved us.  If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar.  For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.  And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

We need to embrace this command, take it to heart and live it out.  No legislation can change what is a problem of the heart.  Heart’s are breaking, hearts need to be changing also.  But the only One who can truly change our hearts is the One who created them in the first place.  In Ezekiel 36:26 God says,

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

That’s the heart change we all need, as a nation and as individuals.  We need our hard hearts to be made soft.  That process involves breaking them and grieving before any healing can take place.  When anger replaces grief we never fully grieve what we have lost and are not able to heal.  Anger doesn’t allow healing to take place.

And we so desperately need both healing and hope right now.  The words of Psalm 103:2-6 have enlightened and encouraged me today as I feel lost amid the chaos so much crime and violence have brought to cities everywhere.

“Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.  The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.”

There is hope in those final words, God is working righteousness and justice for those who are mistreated and oppressed.  Psalm 9:9-10 says,

“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.  Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You.”

As I hang onto hope again today while waiting for wrongs to be righted and peace and freedom to be restored, I hang onto these words from Isaiah 40:31,

“but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

this is not a time to faint but a time to stand firm against what is evil, instead proclaiming what is good, God’s love for us, as His creation, and His command that we are to love each other as He has loved us.

“My command is this:  Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”   (John 15:12-13)

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

 

 

My confession today is a big one, a really big one. It is this.  Yesterday I participated in a mass movement, a mass march, a mass demonstration in the exercise of our freedom, in the exercise of my freedom in this country.  It was a slow march, excruciatingly slow at times, which would explain why it took me three and a half hours to complete.

I was surprised just to find myself in the situation I found myself in yesterday.  I have been home since mid March.  I am a non essential worker so my services were no longer required and further I was required to stay home.  Everything was closed anyway, so there was no reason to go out.  Except for a couple of food runs a month, I was not out at all.

My interpersonal interactions have all been on zoom except for outdoor, very socially distanced conversations with neighbors or fellow walkers.  But I have not been anywhere where there has been a large crowd, or even a small crowd for that matter.  Places are starting to open but the number of people allowed into any particular place is regulated to keep the number of people low.

The Verizon store where I went today is a good example of this.  Only three individuals are allowed in the whole store at one time.  That would be the employee and two customers max.  Anyone else must wait outside.  (appropriately socially distanced of course)

So you can imagine how overwhelming my experience of yesterday must have been for me, dear readers.  After two and a half months of not being around even small groups of living, breathing human beings, I felt I had entered the world I have been watching on my TV screen this past week – but not.

Let me try to explain what I mean.  People were everywhere I looked.  The lines were long and not seeming to move much, so the lines continued to grow longer behind me as the afternoon wore on into evening.  It was a beautiful, warm summer afternoon and I was grateful for the breeze.  I also had my umbrella up to shield me from the sun.  (a few others also had umbrellas out for this purpose so I didn’t feel myself to be the only weirdo)

The crowd seemed to contain the entire spectrum of humanity.  From the old to the young,  every age group was represented, every color of skin could be seen. People from every socio-economic group were there, people from every religious persuasion, (or none) people of every political bent, people from every walk and way of life were represented by those of us who waited patiently in those long, winding lines.  And wait we did!

We waited in the hot sun, we waited through a brief rain shower, (umbrellas came in handy then) we waited through more hot sun, all the while seeking shade whenever possible, and still we waited.

There were some uniformed men on the scene making their way up and down the lines of people, I watched them approach, then gladly received the bottle of water they were offering to each of us.  Not what I had seen on TV at all.  I breathed a sigh of relief.

And still we waited in the very long line, a line growing longer behind us by the minute.  People were on their phones or talking with the people nearest them. Some had come as a family, there were young children there in the line, learning early what the exercise of freedom looks like in this country.  I hope it is a lesson they remember and carry with them into adulthood.

It was a quiet gathering, it was a peaceful scene.  People would call out in greeting as someone they knew walked past, glad to see a familiar face I guess.  Cars would pull in and out of the parking lot as people left and more people came to take their place.  People would sit on the curb when the wait got to be too much, or a few had brought a lawn chair.  And so we waited.

I begin to marvel at the patience of the people that surrounded me as one hour turned into two and the line ahead of us was long and didn’t seem to be moving all that much.  Still, there were no deserters.  Everyone hung in and held their place in the ever lengthening line.

My TV screen had been full of loud, angry people seemingly running rampant and roughshod over everyone, including each other.  Here there seemed to be a good-natured, supportive comaraderie developing between people as they continued to wait in the heat.  We seemed to be encouraging each other to “hang in there” just a while longer.  I was able to share my umbrella with a stranger for a few brief moments during the summer shower.  Little moments of care can go such a long way in trying circumstances.

Peace continued to prevail into the third hour of our wait and still no deserters, just a constant stream of new arrivals.  What would be so important that we would all wait patiently in these long lines?  Yesterday was election day.  Our opportunity to exercise our right to vote is what kept each of us there.  We were part of a mass march to the polls, however slow our pace.

I have voted at this particular place for the past twenty years.  I had not anticipated this experience because in the past there had never been a line, the huge school gym easily accommodated the spacing of necessary booths etc.  and I encountered very few people during my voting experience because I was in and out so quickly.

I have never had a voting experience like this one in my entire life.  I am grateful not to have missed this opportunity to really take note of and appreciate freedom and democracy in action as if for the first time.  I had plenty of time for reflection and plenty of time for thought as I waited in those long lines.  The lesson was not lost on me.  Ironically, this experience was brought to me courtesy of COVID-19.

Because of COVID restrictions, most of the polling places were closed.  Only a small fraction of the polling places were open.  This was to achieve COVID  prevention and protection goals of limiting the number of people that can be in any given place together, allowing room for social distancing to be practiced while they are together and keeping the time short in which people are out of their homes and with other people.  (essential business only)

Well, as you already know we ended up with a very large number of people, together for a very long time, with not enough space to properly social distance because of the large crowd.  None of the COVID prevention objectives were met. Let the irony of that one sink in.  With all the polls open as in the past, the numbers would have been small at each place, making it easy to practice social distancing, and wait times, if any, would have been minimal.

But I digress.  I am well into my third hour and the line ahead of me looms longer than ever it seems.  A lady aways  behind me in line appears fatigued and her husband summons help from the medics that have been present for the duration. Those around her urge her to move all the way up to the front of the line (which we cannot see from where we are, but we know it must exist) and her husband helps her along in that direction with everyone nodding agreement.  Not one person raised a voice or a fist of protest against her moving up so that she could cast her vote before becoming too ill to do so.  It was all encouragement and support.

I overheard a mother telling her son, “you will be able to do this in twelve years.”   What an example she is setting for her son!  He will remember this long afternoon long after he is grown, I am sure.

Thankfully, this was not the America I had seen on my TV screen.  The America I found myself in for three and a half hours yesterday, was the America people had envisioned when they gave their lives so that we could have the privilege of standing in line to cast our votes.

Certainly, the least we could do was to stay the course and cast our votes.  And so we waited.  I would hear cheers up ahead as voters exited the poll after having finally accomplished their goal.  Eventually, I would accomplish my goal, too.

I passed a very long line of people still waiting as I left the building and headed to my car.  I wanted to encourage these strangers but had no words.  They didn’t need them, they were already determined to exercise their right to cast a vote.

Given the events of the past week, I would have thought a polling place would be a place easily given over to argument and dissension.  Certainly many of these people were out of work or maybe had lost a loved one during this pandemic. Many were probably carrying extra heavy burdens from the pandemic and from the protests. Still, they came, they stood, they waited, they voted.

Yet the peaceful, supportive, purposeful atmosphere that prevailed at the poll, was America at its best on display for anyone to see.  There were no camera crews at our poll, too bad.  The message of hope, that we still believe in our country enough to show up, stand in line for hours, and let our vote speak for us would be a welcome encouragement to others.

Hopefully, the protesters took time out of their busy protest schedules to show up at the polls and cast their vote.  The polls are the place where every citizen can have their voice heard. Rich and famous or poor and unknown, our voices are heard equally at the ballot box.  Everybody gets one vote.

I am glad I showed up to vote.  I saw firsthand how much people value their right to vote in person on election day.  The fact that people weren’t leaving but staying, standing in the heat for hours, was proof of their determination to be heard.  I am proud to be one of those that persevered at the poll.

I pray for peace in the days ahead.  I pray for us to truly be “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are confusing times and I confess – I am often confused by the events that continue to unfold around me and around all of us in this country.  I might as well confess something else as long as I’m in confession mode.  I have never liked action/thriller movies all that much.  I prefer, predictably I know, the romantic comedy or drama or true life story sagas.  I think the reason I don’t favor the action/thriller movies is that I can’t follow them when the shooting starts and the fighting ensues.

I can’t tell who is who.  Who are the bad guys?  Who are the good guys?  Who is winning right now?  (side note – it’s not good to ask others too many questions during the important scenes of a movie, it tends to irritate them)  Isn’t that the way it is sometimes?  We’re not sure who to root for.  We can’t tell the bad guys from the good guys – or at least I can’t.

This has again been true for me during this past week as I watch events in many cities unfold before my eyes on the TV news.  There are people packed together everywhere I look.  There are signs, there are fires, there is smoke and noise and more noise.  I can’t tell the protesters from the rioters.  And this is important because there is a huge difference.

If I were there in the street with them, would I know who was who?  Could I then tell the good guys from the bad guys?  Protesters prefer peace.  Rioters count on the chaos they come to cause to cover their tracks and hide their identities.

Protesters are exercising their God given, constitutional right and responsibility to peacefully assemble to confront injustice and bring about change.  They have a message that needs to be heard and they want to make the world a better place for everyone.

Rioters are not exercising any of their rights because there is no right to burn property that you do not own.  There is no right to steal what does not belong to you, what you did not pay for and did not earn.  There is no personal right to smash windows, destroy buildings and cars, deface and vandalize public and private property.  Rioters have no intention of making the world a better place or of making anything better for anyone.

But the two groups have been sharing the streets of our country this past week but not sharing the spotlight.  The spotlight has been stolen by the rioters as they burn down communities, sending the message that the protesters want heard up in smoke along with citizen’s hopes and dreams of reopening businesses and living in peace.

The protesters are against injustice, the rioters are delivering injustice to us all every night by their actions.  And the rioters are delivering the protesters an injustice even more long lasting, they are denying the protesters their moment to make their message heard.  Their message is being silenced nightly by the noise of the conflict.

In the noise and confusion of the streets it is hard to tell who is who.  Who is there to help and who is there to do harm?  The rioters are hiding behind the cause of the protesters and then getting them blamed for the destruction left in their wake.

The criminal disguised as a peaceful protester exercising his first amendment rights reminds me of what it says in Matthew 7:15,

“Watch out for false prophets.  (substitute protesters)  They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  By their fruit you will recognize them.”

And there is another wolf in sheep’s clothing in this mix as well.  Wearing the clothing of those who serve and protect, sometimes even giving their lives in the service of those they are protecting, this wolf was revealed when he took a life instead of saving one.

Often, the wolf among the sheep is discovered only after it is too late to save the sheep.  So you can see why I am confused and having trouble telling the bad guys from the good guys, can’t you, dear readers?  It is especially difficult when the bad guys are dressed up in the good guys’ uniforms.  Some are disguised as protectors and some as protesters but they turn out to be the bad guys in the end.

And it seems like I am always surprised, I didn’t see it coming.  Or maybe I just want to believe the best about people.  Either way, I think we are all ready for peace to reign in our cities and on our streets.  We are ready to come out of our houses and to be together, but this is not the way we wanted mass gatherings to take place once again.  A concert or a baseball game would have been a lot more fun and a lot less dangerous than these daily/nightly mass gatherings of people.

I wish I could separate the protesters from the pretenders.  That is necessary for justice to take place.  And that’s the point of these protests – justice –  equal justice for everyone.  That’s what we all want for ourselves and for others.  But like me, sometimes we can’t tell the good guys from the bad guys.  Human justice falls far short of true justice.

But there is One who judges justly and He will have the final say.   And He will make all things right in the end.  We are just not there yet.  But there will come a day, there will come a time, when justice will reign down from heaven.

“Say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns.’  The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.   . . .   they will sing before the Lord, for He comes, He comes to judge the earth.  He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His truth.”   (Psalm 96:10 & 13)

“The Lord reigns forever; He has established His throne for judgment.  He will judge the world in righteousness; He will govern the peoples with justice.  The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.  Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You.”    (Psalm 9:7-10)

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.  Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.’    . . .    Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed’ ”       (Matthew 25:31-34 & 41)

See, God has that perspective, that vision that I don’t have and will never have. He can tell the sheep from the goats.  He can tell the good guys from the bad guys because He has perfect vision.  He never makes a mistake.  He sees it all.

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”  (Hebrews 4:13)

Peter referred to God as “Him who judges justly.”  (1 Peter 2:23)

Colossians 3:25 assures us that, “Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.”

That’s what makes God the perfect judge, His perspective is complete, His vision is perfect, missing nothing, and He has all wisdom and all knowledge.  He is omniscient.  And He is impartial, showing no favoritism.

“Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.'” (Acts 10:34)

I have the hope of justice for all, because my Heavenly Father is a God of justice for all, who will make all things right in His perfect timing.  Until then, I will wait in hope while working for justice here on earth until He comes again to right every wrong Himself, in person.

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.  He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ ” (Revelation 21:4-5)

“Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth.  The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.  But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create,”  (Isaiah 65:17-18)

holding onto hope, praying for peace,

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I confess – I never thought it would last this long – not these Chronicles, not this pandemic, not these closures, not the restrictions.  I never thought we would go this long without sports or music.  I never thought churches would still be closed.

Guess I should take a clue from the number fifty as to how long this is lasting.  Of course it is more than fifty days, closer to eighty depending on when you think this all got started.  But what irony it should end like this, this journey of distance and isolation.  We were told some things would be opening up this month, with the provision that things could change at any time.  Still there was hope on the horizon.

Then in cities everywhere, the very businesses that were on the verge of reopening, having survived the COVID-19 crisis, fell victim to looters and arsonists. These businesses have been killed not by the COVID-19 virus but by the violence of criminals committing  crime.  Essential businesses that were already open have now been effectively shutdown also, by the same vandalism and arson.

I guess the reopening debate in these places no longer needs to be debated. There is nothing left to reopen in the areas and communities where the riots occurred. The promise of reopening had given people hope that they would be called back to work when permission was given to open these various businesses back up.  They were so close.  Now what?

It is interesting that while our streets are packed full of protesters by day and full of rioters by night, our houses of worship remain empty.  I guess the rules and restrictions on number of people allowed to be together in any one location while maintaining required social distance at all times don’t apply to them?  If those regulations did apply to them, they could all be arrested and jailed, just like the salon owner in Texas.

Our churches aren’t just places of worship, they are places of prayer.  In Isaiah 56:7 we read, “for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

Jesus told the people in the temple the same thing saying, “My house will be called a house of prayer,”  (Matthew 21:13)

Why is this important right now?  Because, while our streets are filled with people protesting, our houses of prayer need to be filled also, filled with people praying, people crying out to God for our country, for our world, for each other.

“if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.  Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.”  (2 Chronicles 7:14-15)

Our land certainly needs healing as never before.  We need prayer as never before, yet we find that our houses of prayer are closed to us at this most critical moment in our nation’s history.  It is our prayer houses that need to be full, not our streets in the dark.

Fortunately, we can pray from our homes, from our prayer closets, from our front porches and from our driveways.  We can cry out from this deep pit we find ourselves in and we are heard.

“In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help.  From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came before Him, into His ears.”   (Psalm 18:6)

“I call on the Lord in my distress, and He answers me.”  (Psalm 120:1)

How good it is to know that someone hears me, that I do not cry out in vain.  I think that’s all the protesters really want, to be heard – for their voices to be heard and acknowledged.  They want to know that they matter, that they have value. Each one of us wants that very same thing.  So we end up fighting each other.

Turns out, all along we have been fighting the wrong enemy.  A quote from one of my favorite movies, Remember the Titans, explains this.  When white Bertier says to black teammate Julius, “I was afraid of you, Julius.  I only saw what I was afraid of, and now I know I was only hating (fighting against) my brother.”

We are all supposed to be fighting the enemy we have in common, the virus, COVID-19.  This virus has been called the invisible enemy for the obvious reason that it is invisible to our human eyes.  We cannot discern its presence but we suffer its effects.

In the same way, we all have another enemy in common who is also invisible – invisible and even more deadly than COVID-19.  Ephesians 6:12-13 & 18, explains it this way,

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  . . .  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”

There’s that praying again.  It begins and ends with prayer.  And we don’t have a prayer apart from prayer of turning this situation in our country around.  Prayer is powerful, especially from a posture of humility on one’s knees.  Who would think that the war against our mutual, invisible enemies will be won on our knees?  But it will.

“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”  (James 5:16)

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday again.  I walk in the cool stillness of this early morning, surrounded by a silence so complete that I can hear every bird call, every rustle of tree leaves in the breeze, every movement of every bunny and squirrel darting here and there – with the sunrise all is light, all is peace, all is quiet, all is infinite beauty everywhere I look . . .

Certainly this world I am walking in cannot be the same world I saw on my TV screen.  That world is dark, chaotic, ugly and full of noise.  That world is a world lit only by burning buildings and cars on fire, a world with streets full of people throwing bricks and firecrackers, breaking windows, shouting, running, looting, carrying off the contents of store after store – while, while what?  while nothing –

the thieves appear unchallenged as they destroy property not their own and take whatever they want – one would think they would be stopped, but there are no police to protect people’s private property, no firemen are there to put out the fires.  it appears people are cheering, celebrating – celebrating what I wonder?

I wonder why I am not seeing any social distancing or wearing of face masks as these people continue with their get-together.  Maybe riots and rioters are exempt from current Corona rules and regulations?  I don’t think anyone took their temperatures or made them register online before showing up.  I know the ban on large gatherings has not yet been lifted.

But the streets are packed full of people, people that have been pent up in their places for the last three months waiting to be released, now filling the streets with their anger and their violence.  No matter that permission to assemble in large groups has yet to be granted.  Theaters, museums, sports venues, libraries, places of worship are not open to people.  No concerts, no baseball games but – overnight we have streets full of people in major cities all across our country.

And sadly these assemblies are not for the purpose of celebrating the lifting of the restrictions, the reopening of our culture and of our society.  These are not celebrations of all that has gone uncelebrated while we were closed down – all the birthdays, anniversary’s, weddings, graduations, trips, Easter, Memorial Day, all the moments that have gone unmarked in the usual ways – moments passed by and passed over while we were otherwise engaged – moments and milestones now at last ready to be recognized and celebrated.

No, that is not what has filled our streets, filled them just as street fairs and farmers markets and marathons and parades used to fill them, just as football stadiums or baseball parks used to be full in their seasons.  No this is not a full house on opening night or a church filled full with singing worshipers – no, gatherings such as these are currently deemed much too dangerous to be allowed.

No, this is something else – even though our right to assemble has been currently limited and put on hold – what I see on my TV screen, is something I cannot bear to watch, do not want to admit is really happening in my own city and in cities all across our country – something sinister and evil, something fueled by anger and by hate.

The words peaceful protest are used but that is not what I see before me.  I see vandalism and violence, theft, arson, chaos, confusion and noise, so much noise. Everyone wants their voice to be heard but in the din of this chaos there are no distinct voices, there are no clear voices, there are no voices of reason or of compassion.  There is no message put forth.  Because the noise level is so loud, any message to honor the memory of the murdered man is lost.  It is simply not heard above the chaos.

This would be the man whose murder ignited people’s pent up frustration, anger and despair which is now compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and ready to be released.  We have witnessed this releasing and the damage, devastation and destruction that have resulted so far.  Sadly, our attention is turned to the rioters and the burned out buildings they leave behind, not allowing us to properly grieve the loss of George Floyd.  Turns out, his name is being totally eclipsed by the successive nights of violence and vandalism taking place in our cities.  I wonder how many of the protesters/rioters filling the streets could even tell you his name if they were asked?

How I wish these rioters would take a page from the playbook of Martin Luther King Jr. – the man who proved to the world that there is such a thing as a peaceful protest.  I would have thought these two words an oxymoron, but Dr. King proved that the peaceful protest is possible.  Dr. King knew this truth – the answer to injustice is not more injustice.

On August 28th, 1963 two-hundred fifty thousand people showed up in Washington DC for the March on Washington.  It was a mile march from the Washington Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial, where speeches were given and music was played.  Many remarkable things came out of this peaceful protest, the most notable – Dr. King’s famous “I have a Dream” speech.

Dr. King’s words were heard, his message was received.  The absence of chaos and crime during the March on Washington made this possible.  When there is chaos, no voices are heard above the noise.  No message is sent, nothing of value is received.  Things are only torn down and taken away.  No progress is made.  Only setbacks result from riots, crime and violence.

In contrast to today’s riots, King’s peaceful protests left a legacy that endures, still here for others to follow even today.  His “I Have a Dream” speech is possibly the all time greatest speech ever spoken in history.  These powerful words could not have been delivered nor could they have been heard had the protesters turned out to be rioters.  But as it is, we still have his words with us today.

There is a big difference between a protester and a rioter.  The former cares deeply about human rights and about other human beings.  The latter has no regard for the law, the rights of others or human life and liberty.  They are opportunists cashing in on the misery, misfortune and heartache of others with no regard for the pain their actions will most certainly cause those with whom they share their community.  Rioters care only for themselves.

It turns out, in some of the cities, there have been some peaceful gatherings of people protesting during the day.  They are seeking justice for George Floyd and justice for other minorities that have been mistreated at the hands of the law. Hopefully, justice extended to one will result in justice being extended to all.

So if these began as peaceful gatherings, what happened?  It got dark.  Eventually night came.  The result was the same in every city.

” . . . but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”   (John 3:19-20)

When morning comes, others are left to pick up the pieces of shattered glass and shattered lives and shattered dreams left in the wake of another night of fear and violence.  No voices have been heard, nothing of value, lasting or otherwise, has been achieved.

There is a Shakespeare quote from Macbeth about our lives saying that they are “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”  But that is not true.  Dr. King’s life, legacy and words have signified much and continue to signify much as their positive, life affirming impact continues to be present with us to this very day.

It is those who abuse their power, those who oppress others, those who tear down and destroy, sowing dissension and reaping division and despair among people longing for peace and prosperity, it is those people who end up signifying nothing in the final analysis.

We were created to be free.  Paul says in his letter to the Galatians, (5:1) the following,

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us (me/you) free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

I want the privilege of being among those in Dr. King’s dream, who are holding hands and singing,  “Free at last, Free at last, Great God a-mighty, We are free at last.”

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I confess, when I hear the words “drive by”, I immediately think of a shooting. That’s what “drive by” means in urban areas, gun fire from a car that is driving by.  But the words “drive by” have received an upgrade of late, thanks to COVID-19. These two words have received an image makeover in the last few months.  Now “drive by” means something entirely new.  We have “drive by” birthday parties, funerals, graduations, shows of support for various people and causes, the possibilities are endless.

From “drive thru” to “drive by” was a small, simple step for mankind.  And we have made the move.  In the absence of assembling together to celebrate something or someone we can “drive by” in order to participate in whatever the event might be. I am wondering if “drive by” events and celebrations are by invitation only?  Being a party crasher at these parties wouldn’t be that difficult to do.

Recently, I discovered the power of another kind of “drive” – the driveway.  It is similar to the power of the front porch but for those that don’t have proper sized front porches, the driveway is the way to go.  The driveway may turn out to be the new front porch.  Neighbors can pull up a lawn chair and sit awhile.  (properly socially distanced of course) The open air forum of the driveway allows for face to face conversation while still observing all the rules, regulations and restrictions of current public health policies.

In other words, you can sit in your driveway in the company of others without fear of being fined, cited or arrested for violating current guidelines of whichever phase of reopening your particular state might be in at the moment.  The important thing is to know which phase you are in because the numbers change with each phase and you don’t want to exceed your driveway’s capacity.  (for people not vehicles)

But the power of the driveway is packed with possibilities.  It can provide a face to face forum for friends and neighbors to actually spend time together and enjoy each other’s company.  I think pre COVID-19 this was called socializing or having a party, among other things.

The advantage of the “driveway” over the “drive by” is many faceted.  Time is one. The driveway allows for some actual time to be spent with others rather than just a wave and a sign as they pass by.  People can get out of their cars, so less gas is used as they don’t have to keep them running.  So driveways are better for the environment than drive bys.  For driveway gatherings no vehicle is needed, just pull up a lawn chair.  Easy and inexpensive.

But the true power of the driveway is in the people, the people that it brings together – together to share a smile, a laugh, a story, a worry, a current problem, whatever it might be.  The driveway offers something cyberspace can’t copy or counterfeit – a measure of personal closeness that zoom can’t replicate, even with our chairs being spaced for purposes of compliance.

It is inexplicable but it is true nonetheless.  I felt calmed, comforted and filled with hope after just one such driveway episode.  I think driveways may be the wave and the way of the future.  Exodus 33:11 says,

“The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.”

Now that meeting place, of Moses with God, was a tent Moses pitched outside of the Israelite camp, calling it the “tent of meeting.”  Then “As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses.”  (Exodus 33:9) Nothing like being with someone in person. Whether the meeting place is a tent or a driveway, the power of the personal, face to face encounter cannot be overstated.

Right now there are many people precious to me that I would love to see sitting in my driveway.  Jesus understood the power of the personal, the power of proximity. Jesus is the most personal of people and the most personal God and Savior.  Besides knowing every hair on my head, every word I speak before it is on my tongue, every thought and attitude of my heart which are uncovered and laid bare before His eyes, He also knows the way that I take and He wants me to be with Him!  (the power of proximity)

“In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.”  (John 14:2-3)

That’s the power of proximity.  The desire to be with those we love cannot be fully satisfied by the substitution of cyberspace for actually occupying the same space. Jesus understood that.  I won’t spend eternity out there somewhere – I will spend it with Him in His house!  Jesus said He is preparing me a place even now.

No zoom meetings in heaven!  Just plenty of personal proximity to those we love.

“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; (or a computer screen) then we shall see face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”   (1 Corinthians 13:12)

sincerely,     Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s a lot of noise out there.  So many voices from so many places.  Loud voices, strident voices, persuasive voices, angry voices, commanding voices, suggestive voices, secretive whispering voices, informative instructive voices, authoritative all-knowing voices, caring well-meaning voices – I am surrounded completely and continually by the myriad millions of voices this world contains.  Do you hear them all too, dear reader?

Do you ever wish for silence?  How do you decide which voice you will heed?  It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the voices – volume both in number of voices and in decibel level of those same voices.  I confess – I find myself asking God about this very thing – this noise problem in my life.

Lord, grant that I would hear Your voice today.  Still my steps, quiet my mind, open my ears to hear You speak.  Silence the shouts of competing voices, the many voices that surround me daily – some invited in, some not.  Some come unbidden and refuse to leave – those voices of criticism and condemnation in my head.

Protect me from those voices in the world, social media – intruding into my day – with voices of advice and wisdom, winsome worldly ways or perhaps warnings of doom and fear, voices of enticing entertainments, voices that promise to solve my problems and show me the way – the way to what?  they do not say – just that it is the way.

Lord, let my ears turn to You, let me seek You in silence, even though Your voice at times is booming thunder, it is Your still, small voice that I do not want to miss – not even for a moment.  Give me ears to hear, ears to recognize Your voice.  I want to hear You in my stillness.  I want to hear You even more in my nosiness – to hear Your voice above the din of noise that so often surrounds me.

Though I do not recognize any voice amid the myriad of sounds, do not hear any voice distinct from the rest – I can recognize Your voice with clarity and conviction, I can hear You clearly despite the din which surrounds my ears.

“He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out.   . . .   My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand.”   (John 10:3 & 27-28)

Heavenly Father, out of all the voices speaking, calling, shouting out, it is Your voice I want most to hear.  Yours is the voice that brought the universe into being. Yours is the voice that spoke this earth and every living thing on it into existence. It is Your voice in the storm saying, “Peace!  Be still!”  It is Your voice that rejoices over me with singing, Your voice that calms the wind and the waves, Your voice that calms my fears and my soul.

“The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.  The voice of the lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.  The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning.  The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;”   (Psalm 29:4, 5 & 7-8)

Seems like I would never miss that voice of Yours, Heavenly Father – but You don’t always speak so loudly.  Remember Elijah on the mountain?  (of course You do!) You were not in the great wind that tore the mountain apart and shattered the rocks.  You were not in the earthquake that came next.  You were not in the fire that followed.  Turns out You were in the gentle whisper after the fire and Elijah heard You!

I want to have ears like Elijah, Lord.  I don’t want to miss a one of Your words. Your words are life to me.  Your words are my manna in the morning and my light at night.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”  (Psalm 119:105)

That’s why I have to learn to listen well.  Lord, I know You always hear me, (You are a good and perfectly patient listener) but I don’t always hear You.  (I am not such a good listener)

“I love the Lord because He hears my prayers and answers them.  Because He bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I breathe!”  (Psalm 116:1-2)

I want to say along with Samuel, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”  (1 Samuel 3:10)

Lord, let Your teaching fall like rain and Your words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants, let Your words fall to earth like the manna You sent so long ago.  (Deuteronomy 32:2)  And may I be found listening in the rain You send to sustain me with Your words.

open my ears, open my mind, open my heart,

sincerely,         Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I planted my front porch flowers yesterday.  Nothing remarkable in that.  I plant them every May in this big oblong box that runs the length of my front porch. Pink impatiens – that’s what I plant – that’s what I always plant.  I guess because they do so well there, I’ve just stuck with what works.  By September they have filled the box to overflowing with blooms, petals of brilliant pink, which is my favorite color. They bring me joy just to look at them everyday.

This planting of the pink impatiens is a tradition of mine.  I like traditions. Traditions connect my past with my present.  Traditions pave the way for my present to connect to my future.  Tradition is the pathway connecting past, present and future.  Tradition shows me the way – where I have been – where I am – where I am going.

How fitting I should carry out my flower planting tradition on this weekend dedicated to tradition.  Memorial Day weekend.  Even the name tells us what it is all about.  Memory – remembering.  This weekend is set aside for a very specific remembering – a remembering which is supposed to be cause for celebration.

We are supposed to be celebrating the freedoms we have as American citizens – freedoms which we often take for granted maybe because we have never experienced life without freedom.  Until now.

What irony, that on this weekend, this weekend specifically set aside to remember and to honor all those who gave their lives over the years so that our personal freedoms might remain intact, we find ourselves struggling to gain back those very freedoms we never realized we had agreed to relinquish.

How did this happen?  Our freedoms of assembly and free speech seem especially in jeopardy right now.  Sure, Costcos and Walmarts are packed with people, but churches have been closed and can only open with great restrictions on numbers and many protocols in place.  Are they taking temperatures at Walmart?

Prisons have been releasing their inmates, convicted criminals, we are told in order to protect them from catching COVID-19.  (who protects us from the newly released criminals?)  While simultaneously, citizens in many states are being arrested and jailed for attempting to open their businesses or for being outdoors on a beach or in a boat.  Don’t they need to be protected from COVID-19 too, just like the newly released inmates?  (I guess that’s why the criminals are being released, we need to make room for all the upcoming arrests of citizens attempting to earn a living rather than collect unemployment and to live the lives they were living just two short months ago)

Looking at what has happened in our country over the last few months, I am forced to wonder, did the men and women who have given their lives down through the years, for the cause of freedom, our freedom, did they die in vain?  Is freedom going to be lost on our watch?

Lincoln, in his Gettysburg Address, stated it most clearly.  “that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”   (November 19, 1863)

This weekend, as we remember and reflect, we need to determine that our dead shall not have died in vain but instead we must decide to  “take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave their last full measure of devotion.”  We can do no less.  It is how we can honor the sacrifices of those who have gone before us.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” This is not the time to remain silent.  Although platforms such as YouTube are taking down any dissenting voices (should be a red flag that free speech is being violated) cries for freedom should not be silenced.

The Declaration of Independence guarantees us certain unalienable rights given to us by our Creator, not our government, and “that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  It also goes on to say that “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,”  Nothing could be clearer.

Did we consent?  and to what?  we gave up our freedoms so willingly, so trustingly, trusting they were not taken from us, we gave them up briefly as a sacrifice for our fellowman, trusting that because we had freely given them up they were ours to freely take back when we should so choose.

But betrayal never enters by the front door.  While we were all watching what the right hand was doing the left hand was at work in another way.  I grieve today, on this day that should be a celebration of our freedom, full of traditions that are not being observed because of, because of what, because of fear?

In any conflict there is collateral damage.  It is no different in this COVID-19 conflict.  There is massive collateral damage.  The cost has not yet been fully counted because the price is still being paid on a daily basis.  It is being paid by the thirty-three million plus unemployed, hungry, homeless, by those not receiving medical screenings and treatments, medical care for cancer and other illnesses, children not receiving immunizations, those who are isolated, separated from loved ones they might not see again,  there is a cost we are refusing to count until it is too late  . . .

Stopping the living from living has no power to stop the dying from dying.  When it is my time to die I don’t want to realize that I was not free to live my life when I was alive, that I was not truly living.  Kind of like an early death.

Patrick Henry understood that very well.  In his speech at the 1775 Virginia Convention he said “Give me liberty or give me death!”  What followed were the Revolutionary War and the birth of our country, the United States of America.

It is fitting this Memorial Day that I remember the sacrifices of my grandfather and all the others throughout history who have defended our freedoms.  This Memorial Day it is my prayer that their sacrifices have not been in vain, that our Constitution still stands, that good men will not remain silent while our freedoms are taken away and that freedom will ring from church bell to church bell, from baseball field to baseball field, from county fair to county fair, from concert to concert, from Broadway to Boston Pops –

let freedom ring!

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”  (2 Corinthians 3:17)

let freedom ring!

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

We were not created for isolation – we were created for community.  That’s why solitary confinement is a punishment.  That’s why “go to your room” is a child’s punishment.  Being separated from those we love is a punishment.  It is intended to break us down.  It does provide time for reflection, for sure.  So I must confess that when everything else has been taken away,  I find myself asking the same question King David asked so many centuries ago when he cried out,

“Whom have I in heaven but You?  And earth has nothing I desire besides You.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.   . . .    I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all Your deeds.”    (Psalm 73:25-28)

And with David, I too say of the Sovereign Lord, Creator of all the universe, my Heavenly Father –

You are my all in all, You are everything to me.

You are the Lifter of my head.

“But You are a shield around me, O Lord; You bestow glory on me and lift up my head.”     (Psalm 3:3)

You are the Opener of my eyes.

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.”  (Psalm 119:18)

“Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes.  Immediately they received their sight and followed Him.”  (Matthew 20:34)

You are the Holder of my hand.

“For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”   (Isaiah 41:13)

You are the Consoler of my soul.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”   (Psalm 34:18)

You are the Director of my paths.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.”   (Proverbs 3:5-6)

“I am the Lord your God,  . . .   who directs you in the way you should go.”  (Isaiah 48:17)

You are the Forgiver of my sins.

” ‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord.  ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’ ”   (Isaiah 1:18)

You are the Collector of my tears.

“You keep track of all my sorrows.  You have collected all my tears in Your bottle.  You have recorded each one in Your book.”   (Psalm 56:8)

You are the Maker of my manna.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you.’   . . . The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.”   (Exodus 16:4 & 35)

You are the Healer of my diseases.

“Praise the Lord, O my soul,  . . .   who forgives all your (my) sins and heals all your (my) diseases,”   (Psalm 103:2-3)

You are the Protector of my life.

“You hem me in – behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me.”  (Psalm 139:5)

You are my Rescuer from the pit.

“He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”  (Psalm 40:2)

You are my Redeemer from death.

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes – I, and not another.  How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27)

You are the changer of my heart.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”   (Ezekiel 36:26)

You are the Hearer of my heart’s deepest cries.

“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.”  (Isaiah 65:24)

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles.”  (Psalm 34:17)

You are the Giver of all good gifts.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”  (James 1:17)

You are the Hope of the hopeless.  You are my hope.

“Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in Me will not be disappointed.”  (Isaiah 49:23)

“but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”   (Isaiah 40:31)

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”   (Romans 15:13)

sincerely,          Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I may not be able to get a good seat at a popular restaurant anytime I want (of course at the moment no one can get a good seat because restaurants are closed) but I can take comfort in the assurance that I have a seat at my Father’s table.  I guess thinking about eating out isn’t so unusual during this time of COVID-19 imposed closure of restaurants and shutting down of all family get togethers and celebrations such as weddings, all of which would include feasts, food, barbecues, banquets, picnics in the park and fancy dining of all kinds.  Being invited to share a meal with others is the height of acceptance and inclusion in any culture.

This got me to thinking about The Last Supper and my Father’s table.  My Father’s table is a table of remembrance, a table of things past, a shadow of things to come, a table of preparation for the future, of preparation for the wedding feast yet to be celebrated – it is a table of inclusion, it is a table of abundant provision, it is a table of fellowship and of sweet communion – and I am invited!

It is not a pitch-in, this banquet.  Jesus told us He is the Bread of Life and He is. “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty.”  (John 6:35) Jesus will provide the food.  Abraham told his son, Isaac, that “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering,” (Genesis 22:8)  And God provided a ram caught by its horns in a thicket.

Good thing, God is the Provider of the Table, because my hands are empty.  I bring nothing to the table.  I have nothing good to offer up.  And I am wearing filthy rags.  But my Father,who issued the invitation, says to me, “come as you are, My child.  My righteousness will clothe you.”

“I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.  For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”   (Isaiah 61:10)

I breathe a sigh of relief.  His righteousness will clothe me!  I am free to accept His invitation to dine at His table.  My Father’s table is a table with a history.  Jesus ate the Passover meal, which became The Last Supper, at that table with His disciples. (a meal which turned out to be “the first supper” of many until He returns)

“do this in remembrance of Me.”, Jesus said to His disciples.  The Passover itself, is a meal of remembrance, as is now The Last Supper or the Lord’s Supper, which we also call communion.  When Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to His disciples He said, “This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” (Luke 22:19)

How often had Jesus broken bread with His disciples before that Last Supper in the upper room?  They had seen Jesus do this many times, this breaking and this blessing of the bread.  The feeding of the five thousand and the feeding of the four thousand were two of the more memorable occasions when they had witnessed Jesus presiding over His Father’s table.  The sequence was always the same,

“When He (Jesus) had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, He broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before the people, and they did so.”  (Mark 8:6)  That Last Supper with His disciples gathered around His Father’s table was no exception.  Jesus did what He had done so many times before,

“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is My body.’ ”  (Matthew 26:26)  Jesus’s pattern of taking the bread, giving thanks for the bread, breaking the bread and then giving the bread to be shared, played out once again at the Last Supper with an additional twist.

Jesus, having already identified Himself as the Bread of life, now made sure His disciples knew that this bread was to represent His body which would soon be broken for them on the cross.  And there was something else, too.

“Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered  it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you.  This is My blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’ ”  (Matthew 26:27-28)

The purpose of the Passover meal had always been for those who partook of it, for those who participated in it, to remember – to remember how God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land – and now the Last Supper was to be a meal for remembering also – for all who would come to the Lord’s table to remember this new deliverance that was about to take place before their very eyes.

The disciples and all of humanity with them, were about to be delivered once and for all from sin to salvation, from death to life, from the temporal to the eternal – a deliverance made complete at Jesus’s cross.  From this meal forward, the Lord’s Supper would be a meal of remembrance.  My Father’s table is a table of remembrance.

“For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”   (1 Corinthians 11:26)

“until He comes.”  My Father’s table is a table of hope, a shadow of things to come.  Jesus is  coming back!  Until He does, when we come to my Father’s table we remember what He did for us on that cross and we rejoice that our price is paid, our redemption complete.  My Father’s table is a table of rejoicing.

We are able to rejoice when we remember what Jesus did for us on that cross. Remembering makes rejoicing possible.  All their lives, the Passover meal had been the disciples’ ritual of remembrance.  But now, from this day forward, this last Passover meal eaten with Jesus would become their new ritual of remembrance. This, their last supper would become the Lord’s Supper or communion.

Communion is a fitting description of my Father’s Table.  I participate in community with others as I partake of my Father’s provision for me.  In the process I am connected to Him and connected to the others at the table with me. We have communion with God and with each other as we share the Lord’s table together.

This present day table is but a shadow of the table that awaits us in heaven.  “Then the angel said to me, ‘Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ ”  (Revelation 19:9)

Until then, I have a seat at my Father’s table here.  My Father’s table is a table of protection and of provision, as well as of remembrance and of rejoicing.

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”  (Psalm 23:5)

“You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.”  (Psalm 16:11)

how grateful I am to have a seat at my Father’s table,

sincerely,       Grace Day