Do you ever wake up and just meditate on how good it is to be alive? Marvel at how lucky you are to be somewhere with a roof over your head? Nestle deep into the gratitude that comes from knowing you’re right where you’re meant to be?
This morning I found myself propped up on my elbows in bed, gazing out over my precious home, overcome by thankfulness for this time in my life. It was so incredibly peaceful, there in the muted light that managed to force its way through my blackout shades, and I realized that I spend way too many mornings bemoaning waking up rather than celebrating being awake. How sweet it is to just rest in contentment.
And I really am so content with where I’m at right now.
(Except we won’t talk about where I’m at academically, because we all know that I am so so tired of being in classes, but this too shall pass and so will I and so on.)
My physical location, this house that showed up at just the right moment for me last year, has been my home for eleven months now. That’s longer than I’ve lived anywhere since I moved to Texas to start undergrad back in August of 2014! And, truth be told, it’s far better than anywhere I’ve lived since I made that move. These walls have seen some major ups and some major downs in my life, listened to me shout songs of worship at the top of my lungs and heard my tearful prayers when I begged God to make it all make sense and to bind up all my broken places. In this place I’ve learned anew how precious it is to dive into God’s word on a regular basis, to pray bold prayers, and to double-check that the freezer door actually shut all the way so I don’t accidentally defrost everything inside… I have covered my environment with celebration, with bold colors and precious places, with my love of adventure and of people. I’ve made this space my own. What an adventure it is to have a space to make entirely my own, what a dream come true and what a privilege.
That was part of what I delighted in this morning. But the other part was what maybe don’t say out loud as often as I should:
Not a day goes by that I don’t catch my breath in amazement at the spiritual and emotional journey I’m on.
I know I risk being repetitive to write it here once more, but every day my soul grows in its hunger and fondness for this awesome God I serve. The more I discover, the more I long to know more and the more my life looks radically different from anything I could have dreamed.
This morning I ended up reading in Psalms 8 and 9, my soul still full of the joy that followed the overflow of thankfulness that had kickstarted my morning. Both beautiful psalms of worship, and both seemed to embody my joy and wonder in unique ways.
Actually, I started with Psalm 9, where the psalmist is declaring his gratitude for the works that he’s seen God do in his life (verse 1: “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds”) and declaring the might of God over that of the world (verse 20: “Let the nations know that they are but men!”). It’s a psalm of gratitude both for what God has done and what God will do, and there are numerous references to telling of God’s works and bringing a song of celebration. And isn’t that what gratitude does? It brings us to a place where we can’t help but see all the reasons we have to worship.
From there I moved backwards a chapter to Psalm 8. And Psalm 8 is just straight adoring God for what he’s done. It starts and ends with this beautiful statement:
“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
And what follows (or precedes, if you’re at the end) is the psalmist listing out the ways God has displayed his might and majesty in the way he’s dealt with us as humans. ‘What is man that you are mindful of him,’ David muses, ‘the son of man that you care for him?’
Y’all, God uses us. He uses our jars-of-clay, bumbling, messy selves to declare his majesty here on Earth.
Does that not make you so excited?! Because it should! It most definitely should!
Oh man, guys, it’s nearly midnight and I’m getting pumped up all over again because there’s just so much to celebrate, so much to be incredibly thankful for. It’s overwhelming and thrilling and I don’t even know everything yet! There is still so much I’ve yet to discover about my amazing Abba-father and what it means to be his!
I guess I should wrap this up so that I don’t accidentally sleep through church tomorrow. Or, rather, church today. It’s 12:01am now.
Huh. Turns out that my ability to wrap thing up takes a nosedive at midnight. Interesting.
I guess my takeaway from today, the reason I wanted to get this all down before this crazy week wrapped up is just the reminder that choosing gratitude is a great first step to increased joy. It’s really hard not to rejoice as I look around this beautiful life I’m living and recognize the goodness of a father who never tires of loving me.
I think I’ll get some sleep now.
Wake up grateful, friends.
– Melissa
Overwhelmed by Big Daddy Weave
The Art Of Being Distinctly ME 