Sunday, September 3, 2023
Coming and going. Hello and goodbye. Good morning and good night.
Beginnings and endings. Our summers and lives are full of these moments.
Whatever the season, we all greet the day, and end the day.
More important than we realize, we set the tone for the day by taking charge of our waking thoughts. And hours later, settle ourselves for sleep at night.
My morning God-greeting of choice is a prayer from King David: “Let me hear in the morning of Your steadfast love, that I may rejoice and be glad all my days. Teach me the way I should go, for to You, O Lord, I lift my soul.” (Psalm 143:8 )
At the end of my day, I often use either a simple “Thanks Lord” or the Serenity Prayer.
God grant me:
the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
the wisdom to know the difference.
For the other moments mentioned above, I often do not go beyond the standard:
“So good to see you!” and “Thanks for coming.”
Recently I read about a family who stood on their cottage dock, waving goodbye to some new friends as they boated away. Then the cottage family all jumped in the water together, calling goodbye “with a splash”! A moment that the new friends will always remember with delight and laughter.
I feel like I could use some fresh ideas from your lives: memorable, edifying, enjoyable ways to begin and end your times with others. And of course, what you use to begin and end your own day.
