To receive this day as it is and not as I wish it was seems like an impossible task sometimes, especially as I stand at the grocery store exit with a cart full only to realize it is pouring. down. the rain. Or when I have big plans for a productive day, but the littlest one is running a fever. Or when they come home from school only to fight until bedtime.
I wish for tomorrow a lot. I rarely consider the fact that tomorrow doesn’t really even exist.
Every week in this place, we purpose to receive this day as the only one we’ve got. Some Tuesdays, I am overflowing with gratitude for the beauty and the peace. I pick out gifts and blessings like two blooms in a whole field full of poppies. There is more than enough to go around.
But there are other days when I trip over too much stuff and too little time. I’m clumsy and worried and fragile. And I desperately need a nap. I am slowly learning what it means to embrace those days, too. Because those are the days when I discover my need for relationship, for encouragement, for community and solitude and forgiveness.
So whether you are in the midst of the mess, surrounded by the lovely or interrupted by things unexpected, I encourage you to pause and consider the gift, whatever it might be. Then, if time allows, share it with us.
Please be sure to include the permalink to your unwrapped post as well as a link back here so all will be able to find one another. If you need help, here are the details. All are welcome to join.
I need to reread this post every morning. I have such a hard time embracing the day for what it is, and not what I expect it to be, want it to be, plan it to be, etc. Thank you.
Same here, I tend to get so consumed by goals, goals, goals, and looking to fulfill myself when I accomplish them, that I end up losing track and not valuing the present moment.
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“I trip over too much stuff and too little time.”
Sigh. I’ve got bruises to prove these days seem to pop up more often than they should. That’s a big reason why I like Tuesday (or Monday night as it has come to be for me!). Because it makes me step more carefully over the stuff, and instead of tripping over it, I might even bend down to discover treasure.
So thank you, thank you, Emily. Even though it must get a bit tiring to host every week, know that this bloggy encouragement actually makes a real difference, in real life for many of us.
I’m so glad you do this! I find more and more that I so easily overlook the little things that can ease me through the day and instead focus on the negatives that surround me. How easy it is to notice the rain and not the fact that we are lucky enough to have a full cart of groceries. This weekly reminder is so good for me and I enjoy reading about the things other people are intentionally choosing to focus on as well. Thanks for forcing us to accentuate the positive, Emily!
Thank you for the reminder. I’m bad about wishing days away and never being satisfied with where I am. “These are the days…”
Oh, Emily. Thank you for reminding us not to wish away today.
Today is a special anniversary at our house. It was good for me to unpack what it means, to thresh it out within my mind in the process of writing about it. Thank you for giving us this forum to share thoughts. I fear that, without the call to share, sometimes I wouldn’t even bother to think them.
Much love to you.
Richella
I’m learning too! What a beautiful thought to start the day! May God meet you in the midst of the beauty and the clumsy!
Looking forward,
Stacey
Hi Emily! I’ve never “played” before, but decided that today was the day. Actually, as I was walking through the snow yesterday I thought of you and toyed with the idea of linking up here. Thanks for the opportunity!
Thank you for the reminder to look at our gifts… and our days and be present, even through the mess!
I look so forward to Tuesday mornings and your posts. You often remind me of things that I really need to here. I feel like I am in the midst of a mess, but I am trying to find joy in it.
Thank you for encouraging me to consider the gift today, Emily.
I agree with Richella’s comment–Emily, thanks so much for encouraging me to articulate the day I’m embracing and what is in it each week…or I might not think the thoughts. :0)
“So whether you are in the midst of the mess, surrounded by the lovely or interrupted by things unexpected, I encourage you to pause and consider the gift, whatever it might be.”
I’ve done this today…thanks to you. Hope the day you embrace today is a blessed one.
“I wish for tomorrow a lot. I rarely consider the fact that tomorrow doesn’t really even exist.” Yep. Me too. Thank you for reminding me that what I have right now is a gift. No matter what shape it takes. Always intentioned by always faithful God. And thank you for encouraging me to see it as such.
I can honestly say that I typed out my post for this link-up, I thought to myself, “You are talking too much”…but I pushed on anyway, driven. When I read it back now…hours later, I could only smile at the gift He gave me.
Thanks for this…I needed it today.
i am so guilty of wishing for tomorrow all too often rather than enjoying the moment. even during the quiet moments i find myself wishing it would last longer rather than actually just enjoying it. thanks for the reminder.
Beautifully said… thanks for this!
I so hear what you are saying and so often need the reminder!
You’re so right my friend…today is all we’ve got. I had big plans for a productive afternoon until Cupcake decided to fill his britches during nap-time and forgo his sleep. Oh how inconsequential that is in the scheme of life. But still, I was undone and unable to see all the blessings that surround. Thank goodness for Tuesdays.
And by the way, I quoted you in my last post. I hope that’s okay. I’m just trying to getting you warmed up. Once that book comes out, you’ll be the oft-quoted Emily for sure. : )
thank you… for the encouragement. in the midst of my mess i am seeking the little things. and am hoping that your gifts, too, are showing their faces…
of course- beautiful… I’m not going to post about it because these days I am a weepy, stressed out bit of a mess… I stop and think “no, not today… maybe next week.”
apparently i need to relearn about tomorrow.
It’s something that I need to constantly remind myself, especially yesterday. Especially TODAY when I spend 2 hours trying to figure out how to work an avocado green sewing maching from the 60′s to no avail. Grrr. Wait! I mean, “yay today!”
Love this post. So needed by many… including me
happy to be joining in today’s unwrapped party.
~ Emily N. from “too Blessed to Stress”
“So whether you are in the midst of the mess, surrounded by the lovely or interrupted by things unexpected, I encourage you to pause and consider the gift, whatever it might be.”
I feel like you’re talking straight to me every week. I think we all feel that way. I want to echo what Jo said above – I am sure this gets tiring for you. Please know how appreciated you are, Emily. I always love to read your perspectives on life and motherhood.
So I’m a little late to the party, and I was a little nervous to hit publish, but I did it. I may alienate some of my regular readers, but I think it was time to broach the topic. Thanks for the inspiration and encouragement.
xo elizabeth
big plans for a productive day, foiled again. that’s me all the time.
Emily – I don’t know, you may get this kind of thing all the time, and then on a Tuesdays Unwrapped to boot, but I have a friend who is an amazing writer. And I thought of you as soon as I read her latest post – all about how the flu brought her family of 5 closer together and closer to God in the process of the purge.
Here’s the link:
http://neatmom.com/family/a-family-once-divided
Blessings Girlie!
Karin
This is my first time to your site and I am in love!!! Your attitude about life is fantastic and a good reminder to stop and enjoy to good things all around us. I needed this today- thank you so much!!!
-Stephanie
Unwrapping has been a blessing. Finding intersections of life where we pause and notice all those steps taken to bring us there. Thanks for giving us a place to ponder them and share.