"For Mark"

Sometimes I take for granted,

The life I’ve had so far,

And then there is a tragedy,

And there’s a mental jar.

From day to day survival,

To something we should know,

And that God gives us each new day,

And to us will show,

The grace we need to celebrate,

Each new passing day,

And not just to endure it,

But enjoy and find a way,

To overcome life’s obstacles,

And still come out on top,

To praise the Lord in everything,

And never, ever stop.

My good friend of so many years,

Lies in the ICU,

A victim of a sudden stroke,

There’s nothing we can do,

‘Cept pray for his recovery,

And ask the Lord to heal,

But thinking of him lying there,

Just does not seem real.

But anything can happen,

With a sudden interrupt,

And all the things that fill our days,

A sickness can disrupt.

So, Lord, I pray for healing,

For my good friend who’s there,

And, Lord, help me to value,

Each day, it’s grace to share.

To live a life of joy and peace,

And thankful, help me be,

So that my time is maximized,

Your Spirit live through me.

“This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it…” (Psalm 118:24, NLT)

The day Jesus became the cornerstone was engineered, predicted and planned by God. Because He is our cornerstone, each new day is a gift of grace from Him, and He longs to fill it with His presence. That’s why we can rejoice and be glad. It’s not because life is perfect. It’s because life is about Jesus and the abundant life He gives us. We often take it for granted, and then someone gets sick or dies and it wakes us up to the fact that we are still here doing life because of God’s grace. Hopefully this will motivate us to live thankfully and on purpose.

Lord, help us to realize that every new day is a gift from You, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Don Weller, donweller.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Don, and God bless you.