To Revel in Each New Day – Denise M Ford

To offer kind words from the strength of gentleness.

To send forth hope from a foundation of faith.

To rise up and serve, to encourage when others cannot.

To open minds and hearts to see beyond the one-dimensional perspective of reality.

To bless, by releasing the creative spirit that refuses to remain dormant within me.

As I sought to condense action statements to describe and delineate how I perceive the theme of my life, I sought relevant scripture to accompany my thoughts. The Lord did not disappoint. Even as I type those particular words I am struck, loudly and plainly struck by their message, “the Lord did not disappoint.”

Guided by His loving and faithful presence I paged to Philippians 2:1-5, where Paul speaks on the joy in serving.

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interest of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”

Honestly, I do not achieve a daily determined mindset of Christ. I fall short every single day. My words, my actions, my discipline and my initiation fail miserably upon analysis of how and what I should have or could have done. But I still begin each new day seeking to serve and desiring to bring joy to others, through my spoken or written words.

In this spring of isolation and dormancy brought upon us by the treacherous Co-Vid 19 Virus, I literally unearthed a beautiful metaphor in the process of readying my planters to receive blooming flowers. As I pulled out the pieces of wood and twigs which I had placed in the porch pots for my winter arrangements, a lilac branch caused me to stop in mid-motion. A distinct clump of roots dangled from the bottom of the twig. As I looked closer, I laughed as I discovered several buds pushing forth from the other end. Despite being pruned at the end of fall, stuck into a container of cold and dank soil, covered by winter snow and battered by bitter winds; this twig had produced new life. In its winter dormancy it had managed to release a promise of hope for this particular spring.

Dormancy, it sometimes overwhelms us, and we are unaware of its hold on us. These past few months our world found itself plunked into quarantines and isolation in an effort to battle this virus. Yet like the twig sending forth new growth we now unearth our weary souls. We now rise up and renew our lives.

In May my church asked me to write a spoken word piece based on gratitude and praise despite this pandemic. After I wrote it, I realized it explicitly outlined for me ways to continue the theme of my life, especially at this time of struggle against the dormancy of these days. Below I offer some lines from “When the New Day Dawns.”

When the new day dawns I begin my reflection, responding to your glory, refining my thoughts to express my love to You.

As I revel in your presence settling over and through me, I accept your radiance, it surrounds and protects me.

Even as the words form, even as my praises rise up, I meet You here, in the dawning of this day.

I allow myself to be surpassed by your glorious presence, to be enfolded from within by your spirit of power.

I embrace this mighty determination not bounded by the ground of uncertain and fearful thought.

Words no longer stay silent, words no longer remain restrained, words simply pour through me forming and expressing adoration.

Your refuge, your peace, your blessing.

As this new day dawns, I revel in it.

I gather my broken distorted crushed spirit and let the searing light of your refinement mold and fit me anew.

So, I begin to step into this new day.

This dawning of life restructuring and falling together,

 amidst social distancing, among creative masking, within boundaries and without controls, within respectfulness and without recklessness.

When the new day dawns I begin my reflection, responding to your glory, refining my thoughts to express my love to You.

Not leaving the encampment of your presence but revelling in it.

Taking note of the words that pour forth, over and through my lips to praise and gratefully acknowledge You.

You meet me as this new day dawns. My words no longer held back, no longer contained.

As this new day dawns, I begin my reflection, while your glory glides and settles over me, surrounded by your protection promises and your guidance within me.

You may wonder, what happened to that dormant yet vibrant twig? My husband planted it in a new garden patch. May it offer inspiration and encouragement as it rises up to bless our home and others as we invite them to share and partake in the joy of being together again.

Had a chance to revel in the beauty of the Rockies near Calgary...Kananaskis