CHOOSE WONDER

Have you ever been so awed by Him? The wonder of His grace? (Psalm 86:10, Isaiah 25:1)

This morning was such a time for me. A time of affirming.

As I was praying through Psalm 88 (NASB) for a Christian friend who has experienced much darkness and seemingly little resolution, I was struggling for just the right words. 

This is such a sad psalm, seemingly without resolution, much like my friend. A soul full of trouble. If it's not one thing, it's two or more. An anguish of great depth---all exact causes unknown to me. 

But God....in His love and mercy showed me, in my NIV version, a notation made by verses 13-14.

The notation 2/17/07 indicated I had prayed this very verse for myself, at a time when there seemed to be no answer from the Lord. 

Today is 2/7/17. All those 7s in the same month, for the same verse. It was a BIG affirmation. I could continue to pray with hope because I had been where my friend is---in the pit. But God....was there in the midst working even when I "felt" rejection, as if He had hidden His face from me.

Now I could approach His throne of grace with confidence for my friend---as a friend who had been on the "same side of suffering" and had found God had been in the midst of it all along. I understand where she is---though the struggle may be different, the ramifications of being in a dark place are the same. 

May she now see His wonders in the darkness and His hand in the land of forgetfulness. (Psalm 88:12)

There's the wonder of sunset at evening,
The wonder as sunrise I see,
But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul
is the wonder that God loves me. ("Wonder of it All," Adventist hymn #75) 

Choosing wonder and awe of the Lord for myself and my friend knowing God's love is there in a place of darkness when one cannot "see" it at the moment!
What a wonder!

Quotidian Quest

Alliteration strikes again. Of course, it's Wordsmith Wednesday.

Quotidian. A great word that keeps popping up lately in my reading.

Mr. Webster defines quotidian (kwōˈtidēən/) as an adjective---- occurring every day. Many think of it as the ordinary----the everyday---possibly occurring so routinely that we don't give it much thought. 
Mundane is probably a synonym of quotidian though I haven't confirmed. 

A quotidian schedule. A ritual. A routine.

A quotidian cuppa is certainly a part of my morning ritual.

As far as routines go, I learned those from a master---Daddy. You could set your clock by him. The sense of routine and order bode him well, especially as he aged. Routine offered security. Habits long practiced kept him focused. 

• ....LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you. (Psalm 88:13)
• My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; (Psalm 130:6)
• In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. (Psalm 5:3)

Quiet time with an open Bible, more that a morning ritual-------scripture is more of a love letter from God to our quotidian lives which give hopes to our little corner of the world.
A Quotidian Quest of Quality.