Finding Joy
I won't have time to finish this posting before I have to shower and leave for church, but I thought I may as well start writing since it has been over a week now since my last posting. I have thought about writing, but though I have had much to write about, there was nothing of great importance. I do not know what people expect from me when they sit down to read my blog. Are they looking for something profoundly spiritual? Educational wisdom? Personal ruminations? I don't know, so this will likely be one of those entries that starts off in one direction, meanders here and there, and finally ends up with something meaningful by the end - at least I hope it will end up that way so you don't feel as though you have wasted your time. I do tend to write a lot...
I just finished mowing my little patch of lawn. The sun came out today and dried the grass, so there was no excuse not to do it but sheer laziness, and I couldn't live with the moniker "Lazy Dan" hanging in big, invisible letters over my head. I changed into jeans, shucked off my black dress socks, and slipped my feet into my old New Balance sneaks that I use for yard work. These grass stained beauties spent the entire winter outside on my top step, sometimes buried in snow, and they sure felt comfy today, as thought the long winter had seasoned them for the arrival of my feet. I put in my earbuds, cranked up some tunes on my iPod (I really liked Matt Redman's "This is How We Know" because it spoke so much of God's great love), and hauled the mower out of the shed and went to work. I pushed the mower up and down the lawn, thinking about the flat rabbit I had found waiting for me in the grass yesterday afternoon. Yes, I said a flat rabbit. A flat, dead rabbit. How it got there in its furry, pancaked condition mystified me. I had to dispose of little Peter Cottontail before nature's recycling team made a stinky mess of him, so I did, and today I ran the mower over the site of his demise. Now there is no sign of him ever existing.
This morning started off rather cool and dreary when I left the house. I never would have thought I would be mowing the lawn this afternoon when I got into my trusty Sentra at 6:30 a.m. and drove off to school. But then, how many of us know exactly what is going to happen in the course of a day when we walk out the door? My day was filled with a variety of activities, and God was faithful to His Word for the day - "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord (Proverbs 21:31). The Message translation says, "Do your best, prepare for the worst, then trust God for the victory." I think that happened today. At school, you do your best to plan, sometimes the worst does happen (though most of the time it doesn't), and you wait on God to do His thing as the day unfolds. He is faithful.
One of the highlights of my day today was chapel service. We sang "Here in Your Presence" and we were right there in the presence of God. The day just flowed from there. The sun came out and made the day as beautiful without as it was within. I had a blast teaching sophomore speech class, dealing with second grade post-recess drama, doing the routine administrative tasks, and enjoying the people I am privileged to work with and serve. Somehow, the day flew by and I wasn't dying to run out the door at 3 p.m. to escape and relax. The day itself was relaxing. It wasn't work, if you know what I mean, even though it was work. Maybe that's why I had a capacity to mow the lawn when I got home.
Anyway... today has been a great day. Yeah. A great day. An edifying day. A lot to smile about day. Simple, right? Nothing profound or deep about that. Sorry if that's what you were expecting something more meaningful. I am just... happy! I hope you are happy too as you read this. I usually take no joy in mowing the lawn (it makes me sneeze and sweat), but today there was joy even in that chore. Joy. Truly, the joy of the Lord is strength. I almost don't want to go to sleep, but I will. Did I find joy or did joy find me?
I just finished mowing my little patch of lawn. The sun came out today and dried the grass, so there was no excuse not to do it but sheer laziness, and I couldn't live with the moniker "Lazy Dan" hanging in big, invisible letters over my head. I changed into jeans, shucked off my black dress socks, and slipped my feet into my old New Balance sneaks that I use for yard work. These grass stained beauties spent the entire winter outside on my top step, sometimes buried in snow, and they sure felt comfy today, as thought the long winter had seasoned them for the arrival of my feet. I put in my earbuds, cranked up some tunes on my iPod (I really liked Matt Redman's "This is How We Know" because it spoke so much of God's great love), and hauled the mower out of the shed and went to work. I pushed the mower up and down the lawn, thinking about the flat rabbit I had found waiting for me in the grass yesterday afternoon. Yes, I said a flat rabbit. A flat, dead rabbit. How it got there in its furry, pancaked condition mystified me. I had to dispose of little Peter Cottontail before nature's recycling team made a stinky mess of him, so I did, and today I ran the mower over the site of his demise. Now there is no sign of him ever existing.
This morning started off rather cool and dreary when I left the house. I never would have thought I would be mowing the lawn this afternoon when I got into my trusty Sentra at 6:30 a.m. and drove off to school. But then, how many of us know exactly what is going to happen in the course of a day when we walk out the door? My day was filled with a variety of activities, and God was faithful to His Word for the day - "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord (Proverbs 21:31). The Message translation says, "Do your best, prepare for the worst, then trust God for the victory." I think that happened today. At school, you do your best to plan, sometimes the worst does happen (though most of the time it doesn't), and you wait on God to do His thing as the day unfolds. He is faithful.
One of the highlights of my day today was chapel service. We sang "Here in Your Presence" and we were right there in the presence of God. The day just flowed from there. The sun came out and made the day as beautiful without as it was within. I had a blast teaching sophomore speech class, dealing with second grade post-recess drama, doing the routine administrative tasks, and enjoying the people I am privileged to work with and serve. Somehow, the day flew by and I wasn't dying to run out the door at 3 p.m. to escape and relax. The day itself was relaxing. It wasn't work, if you know what I mean, even though it was work. Maybe that's why I had a capacity to mow the lawn when I got home.
Anyway... today has been a great day. Yeah. A great day. An edifying day. A lot to smile about day. Simple, right? Nothing profound or deep about that. Sorry if that's what you were expecting something more meaningful. I am just... happy! I hope you are happy too as you read this. I usually take no joy in mowing the lawn (it makes me sneeze and sweat), but today there was joy even in that chore. Joy. Truly, the joy of the Lord is strength. I almost don't want to go to sleep, but I will. Did I find joy or did joy find me?
Comments
Post a Comment