This morning my mind flashed back to a moment in time. I recalled a very sad experience when I was about 22 years old.
I had a neighbour who used to wake up every morning around 5 am to go to the marketplace and open her vending stall. She did this every morning, religiously. And the reason I remember so well is because my room was situated such that every morning as she opened the gate, it would wake me up. Her leaving, became my alarm clock. This was in a time before Blackberry and ITouch were around.
One morning, I woke up at 5 am…expecting I guess that I should hear the gate squeaking as she left. But it didn’t. I thought it strange. Because she had been doing that for at least the year since I had lived in that neighbourhood. Six am passed…the gate didn’t squeak. …7am passed the gate didn’t squeak. At 7:30 as I was heading out for school, I thought it best to ask her daughter if Mrs M. had gone out that morning or if she was out of the country or something. She said no, she was sure that she left for the market. I rebutted, telling her that I didn’t hear her leave. Both puzzled, she went into her mom’s room, only to find that her mom had passed away in her sleep. Mrs M apparently died from a brain aneurysm.
What was wrong with her? Nothing. She had only complained of a headache the night before. A headache. She took a couple of aspirin and went to bed. But she didn’t wake up the next morning.
When Friday comes around, we usually say, “thank God it’s Friday”. I guess in a way, the rest of the week sucked, and so we are ever so glad for some ‘downtime’.
But as I thought of Mrs M, I thought…Thank God it’s Today. I will be honest, this morning, I woke up feeling…’blah’. Just ‘blah’. Hormonal issues most likely, but life in general sometimes has its toll on me, and it can take a few minutes or hours before I reject what the enemy is trying to do. I’m sure someone here got up this morning feeling, “just let’s get this day over with”, “another day…. here we go”. But, shouldn’t we be grateful, that Death did not take us in our sleep? We can see our children, talk to our friends, watch our shows, enjoy the summer weather….
This weekend, I will be singing the hymn “great is thy faithfulness” at a wedding in Chicago. It was the request of the Bride. But I meditated on the words of that hymn this morning, I recalled the scripture in Lamentations 3, that says:
22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I could truly say to my Father this morning, “Lord, thank you for today. Thank you for waking me up. Everything may not be going my way, but I declare it will go according to Your perfect way for me. I greet today with expectation, vigour and fight and with the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes! “This is the day, that the Lord has made, I WILL rejoice and be GLAD in it”.
God is indeed faithful. Even if your circumstances suggest otherwise, it doesn’t change who He is. He is Faithful to you. A lot of things may have happened to you yesterday, yester-year, but you didn’t die. lol. By the grace of God, you managed to get through it. You are still here. So God is faithful.
Here are the lyrics of the song “great is the faithfulness” and if you don’t already know it, I will place a video of a modern day rendition.
- “Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be. - “Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me! - Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. - Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
