Numbers 14:27 “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites.”
When I grew up, my mom and dad looked at things differently. I had one parent who was always the glass-half-full and the other whose glass was half-empty. One morning as my dad came out of the bedroom with a big smile and hands raised in the air, he exclaimed, “It’s going to be a great day today!” This is the glass-half-full parent. My mom, with a scowl on her face, looked at my dad and said, “No, it’s not; we have to change the sheets today!” This is my glass-half-empty parent. In defense of my mom, she had seven children, all within thirteen years. I cannot even count how many beds she had to make in her lifetime and for some reason this bed making day just pushed her over the edge.
It is the mundane times of life that often erode our land of blessings. Whether it be the daily making of beds, the laundry that comes from a place of eternity, or the stove that is constantly demanding a full pot, life’s blessings are often hard to find in the monotony of daily life. The Israelites found themselves in this place of sameness. Same desert, same tent, same people and same menu. Here manna, there manna, everywhere nothing but manna. I am sure somewhere in that crowd there was a person who walked out of his tent in the morning and exclaimed, “It’s going to be a great day; the Lord has once again provided us with manna!”
After the death of my daughter, how I longed for that mundane life. I would have given anything to make her bed again or cook her favorite food. Those days, sitting on the sofa with her, thinking what a boring day this is, I now would cherish it more than anything!
The death of my daughter has changed the barometer on how and what makes a bad weather day. There were many things I would let creep into my thoughts that would rain on my daily parade. Little irritations that would drip, drip, drip and slowly erode and reveal an avalanche of complaining. Life can be hard and busy and stressful. I pray if I have learned nothing else from my daughter’s death, it is to find blessings even in the sameness of each day. My goal in life now is to become a glass is half-full type of girl. I am not always successful, but I am trying to do better. Who knows, maybe I will even start whistling a merry tune when I make my next bed.
It is the mundane times of life that often erode our land of blessings. Whether it be the daily making of beds, the laundry that comes from a place of eternity, or the stove that is constantly demanding a full pot, life’s blessings are often hard to find in the monotony of daily life. The Israelites found themselves in this place of sameness. Same desert, same tent, same people and same menu. Here manna, there manna, everywhere nothing but manna. I am sure somewhere in that crowd there was a person who walked out of his tent in the morning and exclaimed, “It’s going to be a great day; the Lord has once again provided us with manna!”
After the death of my daughter, how I longed for that mundane life. I would have given anything to make her bed again or cook her favorite food. Those days, sitting on the sofa with her, thinking what a boring day this is, I now would cherish it more than anything!
The death of my daughter has changed the barometer on how and what makes a bad weather day. There were many things I would let creep into my thoughts that would rain on my daily parade. Little irritations that would drip, drip, drip and slowly erode and reveal an avalanche of complaining. Life can be hard and busy and stressful. I pray if I have learned nothing else from my daughter’s death, it is to find blessings even in the sameness of each day. My goal in life now is to become a glass is half-full type of girl. I am not always successful, but I am trying to do better. Who knows, maybe I will even start whistling a merry tune when I make my next bed.
Lord, put your hand over my mouth when I start to complain. The thing I might be complaining about might be the next thing I will long for.
