Majestic Monday - On My Worst Day

 In 2020 I have been reading through Paul Tripp's New Morning Mercies. I have enjoyed it thoroughly. This morning I read, 

"On your very worst day and on your very best day, you are blessed with pleasures that come right from the hand of God. That tells you that you don't get these pleasures because you've earned them, but because He is a God of grace. He graces you with good things because He is good, not because you are."

It was interesting because this morning I got up a little earlier than I normally do. I went into the kitchen to start making coffee when Esther, my 17 year old daughter, flew into the kitchen in a panic. She works at Chick-Fil-A and she has a shift this morning. Apparently her alarms did not go off this morning and she woke up 15 minutes before her shift was to start. She has a 20-25 minute commute to work. She jumped out of bed and got dressed and ran out to her car. She did hug me before she flew out the door only to find her car covered in frost. She had to sit in the car waiting until she could see out the windshield. 

She called me later and apologized for being short with me in the kitchen and explained that she had a plan last night to get up early and now her plans were all messed up. She is working a double shift today and she told me now just feels like the whole day is off. 

Life lessons, dear one. Life lessons.

God is so good to us in that he blesses us even on our worst days. When we wake up late for work. When our plans do not go our way. He is still blessing us. My sweet daughter has a job. She has a car she can drive to get to work with gas in the tank. She has heat in that car during a cold snap here in North Carolina. She has a warm jacket to wear while working outside taking orders in the drive through. She has a mom and dad and siblings who love her dearly. The list could go on and on. 

It reminds me that even on our worst days, they cannot come close to THE worst day for Christ. The day when all the sins of the world were placed on his innocent shoulders and he became separated from the Father. In the garden, when Jesus was asking God to take the cup from him, he was not lamenting over the physical pain to come. He was lamenting over the separation from the Father that he knew was coming. Nothing we experience in this life can ever compare to the anguish of Jesus on the cross. And he did that willingly for his enemies. Us. 

That is God's goodness to us. 

I have had several "worst days" in my life. 

The day my marriage seemed to be ending.

The day the play I had poured a year of my life into was cancelled because of COVID. 

The day we lost Asa and the months that followed. 

The day my mom called me to tell me my dad had leukemia. 

The day my sister called me from Spain to tell me my mother had fallen down steps and was in the hospital with a head injury. 

The day my dad called me to tell me that my mother had a brain tumor. 

The day a good friend, Wilson, died in a tragic car accident.

 And many more hard days. But in those hard times I need to remember that blessings that he has brought from each of those "worst days."

Carl and I are just celebrated 23 years of marraige.

The letter I received from one of my students telling me that she has a better relationship with Jesus because of the play that was never produced.

A Weaving of Grace writing and production that came out of the pain I experienced when I lost Asa. 

My dad has been cancer free for many years.

My mom fully recovered from her fall in Spain and was able to enjoy the rest of her visit with my sister.

My moms brain tumor was benign and the surgery a success.

Solace Theater was formed as a result of Wilson's death and has touched many lives. 

So many blessings in my life that started with what I thought was my worst day but God had a different plan. He used each of those moments to teach me a lesson and to draw me close to his side. 

HE is so good. 

So, sweet daughter of mine, my prayer for you today is to look for his blessings because they are there. Your day may not go the way you planned but God never leaves you and he is blessing you right in the midst of your day. Every day.