It Was a Great Day

Occasionally a day comes along where everything just fits together in a way most satisfying mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Yesterday was such a day.

I don't mean that outwardly it would appear to anyone else that I was having a special day. It looked like any other Sunday. Went to church, came home, had lunch, spent time with my granddaughter; nice, but ordinary. However, to me, it was more than that.

I know it is not possible to really convey the emotional and spiritual impact of any event--these are highly personal and individual responses. But everything at church yesterday just clicked together for a most satisfying whole. On the first Sunday of each month we have a breakfast with a devotional from the pastor in what is usually the Sunday School hour. Good company, good food, and a good talk on the Vine and Branches from the Gospel of John.

After the breakfast I went upstairs to the sanctuary, which was practically empty, as it was still twenty minutes or so before the worship service was to begin. The foyer and sanctuary had been decorated for Christmas. It was quiet and so beautiful! As people began to come in and take seats, a family sat down in the row behind me. I turned around to say hello, and met a lovely lady I had a nice visit with. She is quite elderly (which means she might be a few years older than me!), with white hair and a sweet face and expression you would imagine for Mrs. Santa Claus. I found out she had been writing devotions for The Secret Place devotional magazine for twenty years, and before that for another publication. I had just picked up this quarter's devotional, but she told me none of her pieces were in it. But from now on I'll be looking for her name. Because of health problems she doesn't get to church very often, but my day was enriched by meeting her.

The music was so good, and we got to sing Christmas songs. Usually we just have the piano, which I love. The church has a baby grand which sounds so good it soothes my soul. Yesterday the piano was accompanied by a violin and guitars, and there was a new sound system that improved greatly over the old and glitchy one. The band sang, the congregation sang, the instruments added depth to the music; the advent candle was lit after a short, appropriate reading, the sermon about what the discovery of Mary's pregnancy would have meant from Joseph's perspective and how it would have affected them in their society was thoughtful and interesting.

Sometimes going to church becomes a duty thing; it feels like you have done the very same experience a thousand times and the mind wanders all over the place. Yesterday everything felt fresh and new and revitalizing for me. A special time.

After I got home I was planning to have a simple lunch of soup, homemade bread, and a glass of milk. I had my soup bowl out, and was starting to pick up the soup can to open it, when my door burst open and my granddaughter cried out, "Don't cook anything for lunch!" She had been to the store with her dad and came back with a frozen pizza and cheese sticks and wanted to share lunch with me. So that is what we did.

After lunch Megan and I decorated the Christmas tree and living room together. This has become our annual tradition. Later, while Megan worked on a new jigsaw puzzle I read aloud from the book we are now working on.

A sweet and satisfying day.