Fresh Start
Sometimes our days start out rocky. The sun rises, but our spirits drag. Our minds feel gray as a cloudy day. We shrug our usual routines and trudge through the day’s opening hours feeling discouraged and depleted. Little things feel like mountains. Daily inconveniences feel like giant demands. We feel like throwing the whole day away, watching it drain down the sink like a river of tap water - away, away, away. But then…
We remember life’s reset buttons. The midday cup of coffee, its aromatic descent into that beloved ceramic mug and its gentle plink as it streams from the coffee machine. Afternoon sunshine falling in gold sheets onto the life below - the fragrant lantana blossoms, the growing grass, the stretching trees, the leaves yawning toward the sky in one harmonious exhale. I inhale the smell of earth as the hummingbird buzzes in midair suspension, held up by wings and the gentle breeze. Chickens squawk in the neighbor’s yard. Oxygen flows through my body, my heart climbing and my spirit rising as I walk beneath the soft blue sky. Nature is a reset button. God is so thoughtful, so present, and His workmanship grounds me in true beauty.
Inside, I sit. The walls are warmed by dim lighting, incandescent candles. A calm hush falls like rain. A comforting silence. The up-down rhythm of my mug lifted and then returned to the table becomes my metronome as I dive into the Word. It’s never too late to start the day afresh, to open the pages of your Bible and swim in its endless depths, swept up in its fresh wind, finding peace & hope & rest. I feel my soul being watered, like a plant receiving a long awaited drink. Here is the fresh start I needed. Quiet time with the Lord isn’t just for early mornings or before bed, but for every moment - especially when you’re seeking a fresh start in the midst of your day. At lunch, at the library, on the bus, in a chair - if you need a reset, get God’s Word. Get into prayer. Call to mind a favorite verse and savor it. Enjoy God’s Word as your fresh start. Carve out some moments to commune with Him, wherever you are.
Clean sheets can reset an atmosphere. The gentle gurgle of the washing machine and the murmur of the dryer craft a domestic song. Life is a long way from perfect but clean sheets are a small joy. We all need those small, simple joys. I remake the bed in gratitude, stretching softened sheets onto the mattress, fluffing the pillows, smoothing the comforter. The sweet fragrance of laundry detergent wafts up from the bed and perfumes the room like a bouquet of fresh flowers. I light a candle - another small joy - and breathe in the scent of honeysuckle as fire chews away at the soft wax.
A cup of coffee. Time in nature. Life & birds & sunshine & flowers. God’s Word. Clean linens. A lit candle. Writing before bed. Simple resets that can make a bad day brighter. Life’s valleys have attuned my eyes to simple beauty and mundane delights. God is producing good fruit in this season, even on the bad days. Perhaps especially on the bad days. Don’t overlook the small things. One day you’ll look back and see the garden God was cultivating all along. Find the goodness in the present. Let the Gardener water your soul as you savor all that He has poured into your life. Take time to determine some healthy resets for those tough days. God is so good and I’ll never stop praising Him.