there is a lake at sunrise, too lovely to behold;  mist rising from the water, each moment etched in gold.

I love this lake at sunrise, I can see her still;  pink clouds over sand dunes, a cottage on a hill.

blueberries grow behind the house, sea shells lie on the sand;  wind whips the water into waves, oh how I loved this land!

a blue heron lives in our bayou, I can still hear her cry;  wild geese swim among the reeds, or glide across the sky.

the north bayou harbors no houses, just birch trees tall and white; against the blue of lake and sky they stand, a most breathtaking sight.

there is a lake at sunset, when wind and waves do cease; then my lake lies down till she’s smooth as glass, and all is perfect peace.

next stars appear, as if summoned by the loon’s calling;  so many twinkling lights I watch, upon the water’s surface falling.

dock lights dot the shoreline, where the water laps the sand;  all is quiet on the lake – oh how I love this land!

“And God said, ‘Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.’  And it was so.  God called the dry ground “land” and the gathered waters He called “seas.”  And God saw that it was good.”  (Genesis 1:9-10)

sincerely,      Grace Day

if you had only known that joy was almost here,  would you have so untimely shut your eyes and stilled your heart?

if you had but believed happiness would again be yours – would not you have clung to life, endured its’ pain, if only for the promise of relief from constant sorrow?

is sadness such bad company, that you would rather nothing know at all; than know the loss of what was dear?

and fill that space, now empty, with courage and with hope that joy will for a season fill that space, till sorrow comes to take its’ place –

we must endure by faith alone, till joy returns to bear us home –

as our reward for walking with sorrow unafraid.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

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

sincerely,       Grace Day

rest now, precious soul – who never knew the toil of earth.  rest now, in peaceful slumber – for your labor ceased with birth.

rest now, precious soul – whose countenance is so fair.  or play then, little one, with winged angels upon the golden stair.

rest easy, precious soul – for no pain pierces where you dwell.  grief, sickness, sorrow, are not for you; but woes for mortal tongues alone to tell.

you won’t even miss our earthly joys – which we mere mortals think so fine.  why you would wonder to hear us weep, for your joys are by far sublime.

so rest now, precious little soul – in His home of peace and love; while I attend to earthly heartaches, until I rest with you above.

“My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.”  (Psalm 139:15-16)

sincerely,      Grace Day

today I need to watch wild geese fly, to feel the wind and see the sky –

today I need to chat with flowers, to roam the fields for endless hours.

today I need to feel the rain, to watch the grass turn green again-

I need to hear the robin’s song, inside these four walls I don’t belong.

For I shall miss the clouds go by, I will not see the dew to dry-

leaving the world so fresh and new, as dawn withdraws her rosy hue.

And if it rain, or if it snow; inside these four walls  how shall I know?

only know my heart is there, with the wild geese in the air.

 

Yes, today I would watch seagulls fly with ease above the shore, and revel in each hour’s joys,  I could not ask for more.

I need to walk a lonely path, dry leaves beneath my feet-

to feel the fragrance autumn brings, would make my day complete.

today I need to feel the wind against my burning cheek, to feel warm sunlight on my back, which brings the peace I seek.

today I wish I watched the rain, or watched the flowers growing; or saw the sun shining on the forests of fall, setting autumn’s colors glowing.

yes, today I need to talk with trees, to learn their secrets on the breeze –

see the sunset’s pastel hue, and firefly’s lights when day is through.

though in these walls I spend the hours, please know my heart is with the flowers-

like them I bloom on a sunny day, but inside these four walls I shall fade away.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.  Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”  (Psalm 19:1-4)

sincerely,             Grace Day

 

 

 

 

tell me what color eternity is, and that is what color I’ll wear –  dressed in the garments of hope and of joy, to wish you much happiness there.

tell me what color eternity is, for someday I’m going there too.  perhaps it is white or is green or is blue, and soon I shall spend it with you.

Tell me what color eternity is, that I may come dressed for my Lord, clothed in His righteousness alone, washed by the blood He poured

upon the world to buy our souls, to redeem us for His own; that at our dawn of eternity, we each shall have a home.

tell me what color eternity is, and we will sing gladly for you.  dressed in the colors of peace and of light, each wearing eternity’s hue.

Yes, tell me what color eternity is and that is what color I’ll wear.  tell me about the joy overflowing, that through suffering I may prepare.

And so I will dress in eternity’s hues, each day till I see you again; for they will remind me of what is to come, when we will eternity spend.

“For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever.”  (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

I couldn’t believe my ears – as a frequent Target shopper, I had grown used to the melodic chimes that thanked me for my purchase and for using my card, each and every time.  After my post, “your noise police at work”, I felt confident that this change from buzzer to chime was a positive one and was here to stay.  Other stores had even followed suite shortly after, switching from abrasive buzzers to more melodic tones at their checkout counters.  So you can imagine my complete shock when a buzzer unexpectedly demanded that I remove my credit card immediately from the machine at the Target checkout.

I was totally unprepared!  I had come to enjoy the beautiful tones of the chime that would thank me for my purchase while at the same time reminding me that I had not yet taken my card back, but, not to worry, there was still plenty of time and opportunity for me to do so.  It was a kinder, gentler time that Target ushered in for its’ customers with the arrival of the chime to bid us each farewell and come again soon.  The departure of the buzzer had been widely heralded (meaning I noticed, did anyone else?) as a gesture of goodwill to customers sensitive to the alarming, demanding sound of the buzzer, which essentially screamed to the customer, ‘why are you still here?  you are holding up the line! get your card and get out!’

So you can see why I am both surprised and confused as to why the buzzer is back?  Was too much goodwill generated?  Were the checkout lines slowed down because customers weren’t as quick to grab their cards and go but rather lingered to enjoy just one more chime before going on their way?  It is a mystery to me – I much preferred the chime.  Am I alone in this preference?  This will remain an unsolved mystery for now.  Perhaps faster moving lines trump sweeter sounding checkout noises?  Maybe the noise police are no longer on the job to protect us from the stress caused by loud, repetitive, abrasive sounds assaulting us periodically throughout our day?

Doesn’t Target want to eliminate any possible stressors for its’ shoppers?  Checkout is the final phase of the shopping experience – Target should want to send us off with a kind, melodic ‘come again’ rather than an insistent ‘get on out of here, now!’   Take heed – Target!   the noise police may yet return!

“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.”  (Psalm 98:4)

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”  (Proverbs 16:24)

sincerely,       Grace Day

seen a meadow of mustard?  a field full of faith, mustard seeds waiting on the wind to send them out into a world filled with mountains that must be moved –

have you seen that meadow of mustard standing, shimmering, shining in the sunlight like Rapunzel’s hair or Rumpelstiltskin’s straw spun to gold, with the majesty of the kings of old, the mystery of their tales untold, Solomon’s temple was never so bold as the splendor of the mustard meadow which I see before my eyes unfold – more beauty than one heart can hold – this mustard meadow filled with gold

” . . . See how the lilies of the field grow.  They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.”  (Matthew 6:28-29)

” . . . I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.”  (Matthew 17:20)

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

no one saw the empty space, nor knew there was such a space that needed filling- not even I knew of the emptiness’s existence; for the space had always been as it was, I knew nothing different.  What might have filled the empty space had things been different than they were?  A father’s presence and protection, kind words of comfort or of praise, a hand to hold or shoulder for strength and reassurance?  I did not miss what I had never known.  The space had always been empty, that was what was real.

He was drowning in his own sorrow, a sorrow I could not see, did not know, would not understand until years later, when hindsight’s reflection reveals those hidden mysteries a child cannot carry until it be another season.  And so I watched him drowning, day after day;  I, a captive audience to his pain, to his daily battle with a bottle – and I had not the means to rescue him nor provide him any peace amid his pain . . .

mine to watch in hope and wait – his pain spilling over into the empty space left by his absence from my life, his pain seeping in, soaking everything it touches; pain filling the space where a father should be, and those special spaces reserved for joy and childhood wonder . . .

I wanted to be a princess like those in my childhood fairy tales – but there was no king to care for me;  (though the queen’s love was steadfast and sure).  I awaited the prince who would one day rescue me – but he turned out to be a cruel impostor . . leaving me more empty spaces than before . . .

” And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him, who fills everything in every way.”   (Ephesians 1:22-23)

” . . . His name is the Lord – and rejoice before Him.  A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling.  God sets the lonely in families, ” (Psalm 68:4-6)

“Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.”  (Psalm 27:10)

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!”  (1 John 3:1)

“The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”  (Deuteronomy 31:8)

now, from hindsight’s clearer view, as I reflect on these verses, words that reassure me that my Heavenly Father has been with me all along, I know that it is His presence that fills my empty spaces – spaces left empty by the absence of those I love . . .  He has always been with me in those spaces, even when I thought and felt them empty, He was there . . . He who fills everything in every way,  my Heavenly Father is omnipresent –  the train of His robe fills the temple, His majesty fills heaven and earth and His mercy, grace and love fill not only my heart, but all the empty spaces that living life here on this earth, leave for Him to fill.  My Heavenly Father is able to fill all my empty spaces to overflowing out of His abundant, infinite supply.

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”  (Psalm 23:5)

sincerely,          Grace Day

 

 

 

seen a field filled with fireflys flickering on a summer’s night?   heaven’s living lights twinkling, stars come down from the sky to move about the meadow – free to frolic in the twilight deepening, their lights dancing in the darkness – lighting the earth like the sky

the meadow a reflection of the starlit space above, till earth and sky are one, nothing in between – stars who hold their course through every season and fireflys who shine so short a time in summer’s all too brief appearance – yet in this one moment stars and fireflys alike are one and the same – stars light the earthly meadow as fireflys fill the heavens  . . .

until the dawn, with her appearance, brings the magic of the million twinkling, dancing, living lights to an end – this miracle amid the mundane of an ordinary summer’s night, now only a memory in the mind of anyone so fortunate to have beheld at all — the night that heaven and earth merged in the meadow –  the night the stars came down to dance with the fireflys and the fireflys flickered, floating, frolicking, filling the fields of earth so full that they overflowed ever upward, joining the stars in their eternal dance, filling the sky above as well – on that most magical of moments in the meadow, once upon a summer’s night  . . .

“Lift your eyes and look to the heavens; Who created all these?  He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.  Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.”  (Isaiah 40:26)

sincerely,         Grace Day

 

seriously?  Apparently it’s true. My cat is now on anti-anxiety meds to help her deal with her stress.  I am baffled.  What stress?  I mean all my cat has on her calendar is eating and sleeping and sleeping and eating, in no particular order- with an occasional trip to the litter box thrown in.  She has food and beverage available 24/7, I never let her bowls get empty.  She can sleep whenever she wants, wherever she wants.  She has the run of the house and no other pets to compete with for my time and attention.  She doesn’t have to share her toys or her favorite place in the sun with anyone.

So the mystery of why my cat is stressed out continues to elude me.  I mean she doesn’t have to hunt for or to shop for her food, it just magically appears in her bowl each day!  She has a roof over her head, plenty of toys, and she is her own boss.  (cat’s pretty much do what they want to do, when they want to do it)  She has no demanding schedule and plenty of alone time while I am at work each day.

What am I missing?  Does my cat have stock that I don’t know about and she’s been following the stock market this past year?  Is that why she’s supposedly anxious and depressed?  Does she see other cats on the TV commercials and wants what they have, thinking they have better food etc. than she does?  Does she see the neighborhood outdoor cat and want to be outdoors like her?  Maybe the news I watch on TV about what is going on in this world is making her sad, causing her to worry and stressing her out?  Let’s face it, the news today would make anyone anxious and stressed.

She shouldn’t be worried about her wardrobe.  My cat has a beautiful fur coat that keeps her cool in the summer and warm in the winter.  She never has to shop or do laundry!  What is my cat’s problem?  Is she worried that I will forget to feed her? (that has never happened, so she has no reason to think that it will)  Does she not trust that I will continue to provide for her as I always have?  Is that what causes her anxiety and stress, her lack of faith in me as her owner and provider? Is her stress issue really a trust issue?

I am feeling stress just trying to figure out the cause of her stress, which to me appears to be non existent based on her circumstances.  I could alter her circumstances if I knew what in them caused her stress, but trust is an issue of the heart and is not so easily treated.  So for now, this will just have to remain an unsolved mystery.  One I will continue to ponder but try not to stress over.  One stressed being in this house is enough!

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  . . .  your Heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its’ own.”  (Matthew 6:31-34)

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7)

Perhaps assurance is the ultimate antidote to anxiety.  Paul expressed that best in his letter to the Philippians saying, “That is why I am suffering as I am.  Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard (keep) what I have entrusted to Him for that day.”  (Philippians 1:12)

“An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.”  (Proverbs 12:25)

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”  (1 Peter 5:7)

“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.”  (Psalm 68:19)

“Cast your burdens on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.”  (Psalm 55:22)

Jesus invites each one of us today, in our anxious, stressed-out, worry filled conditions, to come to Him just as we are and lay our burdens, fears, anxieties; even our very lives down at His feet, turning all over to Him.  This is His promise to us when we do;

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

sincerely,       Grace Day