I will rejoice today!

This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it. - Psalms 118:24 (NIV)<

When I came home from the hospital after treatment for depression, some friends of mine from my church prayer group brought a bag of gifts to me to help cheer my spirits. Each day, I was to unwrap one small gift. Each had a tag that had an inspirational thought, and the gifts were a mix of small gifts such as bookmarks and snack food, to larger gifts such as a gift card, a book, and a scented candle. But one of the nicest gifts was a woven tapestry which quoted the above scripture. It hangs prominently in my living room, and it has been a daily reminder to me "to rejoice and be glad in today".

This scripture keeps us focused on the present today. We are not to worry about tomorrow or regret yesterday, but just enjoy the present day.

Too often, we can allow our joy in the present moment to be robbed by reliving the past or fearing the future. Or we allow things such as the weather to put us in a bad mood.

As someone who is a natural "melancholic", being joyful in all circumstances isn't my normal mode of being. But, I am a new creation in Christ, and I am practicing the art of ENJOYING LIFE. Wow!

I remember an elder from my childhood church, who always recited Psalms 118:24 when he served at the table. And he did seem to be the type of man who always wore a smile on his face. He seemed cheerful to serve the Lord whether it was at the communion table, singing in the choir, or in any other way he was called.

I look at the tapestry hanging on my wall every day. And every day, for at least those few moments, I stop and smile and rejoice in the present day. How much brighter the world would be if many of us would just slow down, smile, and go about our daily business in a cheerful manner.

Saturday morning, I had plans to be at my church to serve in a toy distribution project. I woke up to find ice on my steps and windshield. As I stood outside for nearly half an hour scraping ice, I felt tempted to grumble and complain. But the thought about "this is the day that the Lord has made" entered my head. I stopped scraping for a moment, looked up at the sky, and smiled. My heart filled with joy, for thankfulness to be alive, to be well enough to be outside scraping ice off my windshield, for having a decent vehicle to drive, to be able to help with a service project. Then I laughed and said, "God, you could help me just a little bit to get this ice scraped so I can be on time!".

Rejoice! Be glad today! Smile! Be cheerful!