Day by Day

 "Each day comes bearing its gifts. Untie the ribbons."

Ann Ruth Schabacker

Beautiful color from John and Tina's garden!

 Many of us are familiar with the hymn, Day by Day, written by Carolina Sandess Berg, 1832-1903, and that's really all we can do now. Go day by day and try not to think too hard about the future.

 "Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best—
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest."

A happy face for you!

 I read about Carolina Berg in the book "The One Year Women in /Christian History Devotional" by Randy Petersen and Robin Shreeves. They wrote: "Carolina 'Lina' Sandell Berg, a Swedish hymn writer in the 1800s, had her share of unexpected days. She had no to-do list on a smartphone, but she probably woke each day with things she wished to accomplish. Sometimes she got them done. Sometimes the unexpected occurred.

"Life she knows, is full of both pain and pleasure, and the Lord is there through all of it, comforting us, strengthening us, teaching us lessons, surprising us. In all days---good, bad, and ordinary-we can trust that God knows best."

So many of our favorite books and hymns are written by common folk who experienced God's Hand during difficult circumstances. God can take anything you are going through and make it beautiful in His eyes.

A family portrait from Mt. Airy MD. My very first one in our own backyard!

In Kenneth W. Osbeck book, "Amazing Grace" he wrote: "At the age of 26 Lina had an experience that greatly influenced her life. She was accompanying her father aboard ship to the city of Gothenburg, Sweden, across Lake Vattern. The ship gave a sudden lurch and Lina's father, a devout Lutheran minister, fell overboard and drowned before the eyes of his devoted daughter. Although Lina had written many hymn texts prior to this tragic experience, now more than ever poetic thoughts that expressed a tender, child-like trust in her Lord began to flow freely from her broken heart."

 What situation forcibly changed your life? What did you learn from it? Did that situation help you to trust God more and become a stronger and wiser person? I hope my struggles have caused me to comfort others as Paul said in 2 Corinthians: " . . . the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from Christ." (verse 3-4)

My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long.

Psalm 71:18

 

Warren Wiersbe has this to say about a day: "As we begin each day, we trust we'll still be around at the end of the day. What happens in between depends on how we start in the morning and how we end in the evening. Verses 1 and 2 in Psalm 92 describes an ideal day: 'It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your Name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night.' That's how we ought to live each day."

Day by day is all we have. We read many times not to fret about the past and don't plan for the future, but live the day you are in. If we concentrate on the day we are living, each day would be easier and lighter for it's the only day we truly have.  

 The second and third verses of Day by Day are meaningful too:

1. "Every day, the Lord Himself is near me
   With a special mercy for each hour;
   All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
   He Whose Name is Counselor and Pow’r.
   The protection of His child and treasure
   Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
   “As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,”
   This the pledge to me He made.
2. "Help me then in every tribulation
   So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
   That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation
   Offered me within Thy holy Word.
   Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
   E’er to take, as from a father’s hand,
   One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
   
   Till I reach the promised land."
    
   You can listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzrhqjzQCi4
   
   
   

 "A day is a miniature eternity."

Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882