Ordinary Life

I love to watch the sunrise. I love the stillness and quiet of the morning, the anticipation of a new day and all the promise that it holds. In the early morning calm I am reminded that God is here and that he cares. The sunrise brings with it the chance for a fresh start, a new beginning, and renewed strength for whatever the day brings. I am grateful that God knew we would need these new starts, and that we would need them frequently!


Now that there are no kids in the house I don't see the sunrise very often. Mark and I don't have to get up before dawn to make breakfast or pack lunches or drive kids to school. And we miss those moments - the miraculous turning of the sky from black to brilliant hues of pink and orange - those moments that confirm that God is indeed a God of goodness and mercy, a God of new beginnings!


I haven't seen the sunrise lately, but I have seen the dawn of a new day in my life! For the first time in nearly a year, I have felt relatively normal! I feel good physically. I am not tired. I can eat. I can leave the house. I have been successful at rejecting fearful and worrisome thoughts. I feel the sun rising...


Thursday night Mark and I had the privilege of attending the George and Barbara Bush A Celebration of Reading at the Hobby Center. It was a really fun evening!


Friday night Mark and I enjoyed the Astros game with my parents. The Astros won, and we stayed all the way through the fireworks at the end of the game. Lots of fun!


Saturday I actually worked in the yard! I can't remember the last time I did that! It felt good to be in the sun, using muscles I haven't used in a long time. I'm not sure my surgeon would have been too happy, but he wasn't here! 


Sunday night I went swimming! I haven't been in a pool in a year! 


I read this quote from a cancer survivor today: 

"All I wanted was ordinary life back, for ordinary life, 

it became utterly clear, is more valuable than anything else." 

(Katherine Russell Rich, The New York Times, 4/26/2010)

Thank you, Lord, for giving me my ordinary life back. Please help me never to take that blessing for granted!


Maybe I'll get up and watch the sunrise tomorrow...