A new day dawns, a gift of grace, a place to start again.
The garden of life waits…
We scatter seeds of hope as best we can;
we know that God will bless the seeds.
The field of life sometimes seems barren;
sometimes, the field is drenched with heavy rain.
We go forward into the field each day,
a prayer of thanksgiving upon our lips.
The morning matters, each and every one.
It matters what we say and do
and where those seeds of hope take root.
There will never be a day quite like the one before you.
The garden of life waits, a gift of grace, a place,
to start again.
I have always loved Claude Monet’s paintings. One of his paintings is called, “Morning Landscape, Giverny”. If you could step inside a painting, how lovely it would be to step inside this one! It is as if Monet captured the very breath of morning on canvas, an invitation to a new day.
It is the breath of God that sustains us day by day. As we wander into the landscape of a brand-new morning, God goes with us. Recently, I came upon a quote from scripture, and it is surely a good quote to contemplate in the early morning: “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have room enough to take it in.” (Malachi 3:10)
The windows of heaven stand open, but our hearts and minds must be open to receive the blessings! How wonderful to open our eyes in the morning and reflect upon God’s great love and mercy for us. It is ‘new’ every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).
It is an awesome thing to know that the ‘windows’ of God’s house are always open; His blessings are continuously flowing down to us in a steady ‘downpour’. It is up to us to allow that downpour to enter into our very souls, a lifeline between heaven and our daily comings and goings upon this earth.
When we allow this flow of divine love to permeate our days, we can go forward with confidence. We know God is listening to our prayers: “I call out to the Lord, and He answers me from His holy mountain.”(Psalm 3:4)
The landscape of life changes day to day. It is a grand adventure! Sometimes, there are raindrops and teardrops. Sometimes, there is a burst of light so bright, you are as captivated as if a Monet painting came to life.
No matter what, we must awake in the morning and pray our prayers of thanksgiving. In reality, every day is ‘Thanksgiving’ when it comes to God’s blessings.
As scripture reminds us, “This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”: Psalm 118:24.
I take great hope and comfort from this line, and I thank you for it.
“There will never be a day quite like the one before you.”
Every day is a gift! 🙂
Indeed it is–and I never look a gift horse in the mouth!
🙂 🙂 🙂
That is the exact line that stood our for me. Goosebumps!
Ooh, goosebumps here, too!
🙂 🙂 🙂
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Yes! It is an everlasting flow! We are so very blessed, every hour, every day!
Linda, your “Writing Corner” is fabulous each time you write to us. As I looked at Monet’s painting, the sea looked dark and dangerous to me, but the beauty of the sun coming up in the distance reminded me of God’s presence over-shadowing all darkness and fear. I loved the poem. So often when things are going good, such wonderful writing can go unnoticed as truly awesome. Today, especially for me, I needed that poem and what you sent. It’s all good. Good medicine for the soul and a reminder of how great our God is and how loving and kind are His mercies. Thank you, Linda.
Thank you for your wonderful comment! I am sorry about the confusion with my sunrise photos and Monet’s painting. I have taken many sunrise photos and I posted two of them. (I might go back and add a few more!)
Amen!
Amen!
I look forward to your reflections, Linda. And I believe that Claude Monet would agree wholeheartedly. He once said: ““Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love.”
That is a wonderful quote. We look at art and the world through the lens of our own perspective. How wondrous can that view be when we look through the lens of love! Little children greatly appreciate art and the world as ‘art’, and yet, they have no training or background. They are capable of ‘seeing’ in such a marvelous way!
Hi, Linda, your poem and your prose are simply grand. And I agree – gratitude is a key to the kingdom! 🌞
Thank you! Gratitude is everything! 🙂
Yes!! When I first graduated from college, I worked in the development office of a seminary, which trained young men and women how to be pastors. We were encouraged to attend chapel every morning, and often the students would lead the service. All these years later, I still remember a sermon that a student preached on the parable of the loaves and fishes. He said that the main point of this story was that we should always do our best and trust God to make our best good enough. I’ve heard hundreds of sermons over the years, and but is one of the messages that stuck with me. Your post today reminded me of that. Your poem spoke to the same point, at least the way I read it. Thanks for that reminder that we have many, many chances to get it right! And that even when we fall short, God can make our best “good enough.”
Thank you so much for sharing that sermon!!! It is so easy to feel that we are not ‘doing enough’ in a given situation. And yet, God can do amazing things with our efforts. Doing our best is really all we can do. Knowing that He blesses the work of our hearts and hands continuously is so inspiring. Our God is a God of miracles! He does not waste a crumb!
lovely writing and the golden lining in those clouds are really magnificent!
That golden lining is something! It is a good thing to remember about our lives as well. There will always be clouds; that shimmer of golden sunlight is there also!
always a blend of the two, we get to choose which we focus on 🙂
Yes! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Linda, thank you for giving Monet’s painting a much richer meaning with Malachi 3:10 (The prophecies hold the some of the most beautiful gems). I attended a Mennonite elementary/middle school growing up. One year our teacher had us sing the Psalm 118:24 scripture song for our lunch prayer each day. What a rich gift she gave me in that this verse is quick to come to my mind in its lyrical format.
You surely did receive a gift! What a wonderful remembrance to keep with you always!
Every day definitely is thanksgiving! A lovely piece Linda 🙂 x
Thank you! 🙂 🙂 🙂
I’m happy to be getting acquainted with you and your blog. This post was very special to me. This morning in my quiet time the subject of grace was prominent, and recently the verses about God’s mercies being new every morning were such a joy to me. Our adult son with autism that I write about is sometimes difficult to deal with, and we often remind him when things settle down that tomorrow is a new day. We will start over. God does that with us too, and I’m so thankful! Thank you for wording those truths beautifully.
We are all so blessed to be given a fresh start each day. Your son is lucky to have a mother who is both wise and compassionate. Some days are harder than others, and we get through those days with the help of God and one another. I wish you blessings on your daily walk. I know that God will guide your every step. We never walk alone, and perhaps, that is the most important thing to remember each and every day.
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Everyday is a new beginning. Your poem is beautiful, Linda. My morning is my sacred time; a time to enter God’s presence. The scriptures from Malachi and Lamentations you shared give me a visual of what God does for me in that morning stillness and what Carries me through the day. Thank you, Linda, for your lovely words.
Morning is such a special time. Even a few moments of quietude and prayer makes such a difference. It sets the tone for the day and gives us the strength and wisdom to be our best selves. God is always listening to our prayers, day or night. It is such a comfort!
I love early morning when the day is bright with promise, and this time of year when it is also filled with birdsong. Thank you for sharing. Your photos are stunning.
Wishing you a wonderful morning today!!! 🙂 It is hard to believe that June is almost over!
I hope you have a beautiful morning, too!
🙂 🙂 🙂