Some days go by like a whirlwind, filled with many moments of contentment and joy; others have a more measured tempo, with periods of emotional ups and downs; still others are slow-moving because they are weighed down with the heaviness of sickness, hardship or conflict among our loved ones. One of my greatest challenges is to find ways to savor each and every one of our days — regardless of whether any particular one has an abundance of “salty” or “sweet” ingredients! If I truly recognized the amazing miracle of each day, that breaks upon us with the rising of the sun, and that is so visible through life breathing in and out of each one of my precious sons and my husband, how could I not savor all the experiences that await us? How could I so easily forget the amazing miracle each day truly is? I recently read a beautiful quote from Venerable Madeleine Delbrêl:
“And yet we receive each morning and each day in its entirety from the hands of God. God gives us a day which has been prepared for us by him. There are no ‘too muches’ or ‘not enough’ in it. No part of it is neutral, no part of it is useless. It is a masterpiece of a day that he has just asked us to live. . . . Each minute of our day, wherever we’re supposed to be and whatever we’re supposed to be doing, allows Christ to live through us in the midst of human beings.”1
For many families, COVID-19 has put hard brakes on the whirlwind high-activity days and may have increased the number of slow, seemingly endless days of quarantine, peppered with anxiety. Savoring means being grateful to God for whatever I’m given this day! By living this day fully and choosing to infuse it with Christ’s love, I am truly consuming the Day and savoring it in the way God intended. How do I do this as a mom? By deciding to be selfless, to help others in need, to encourage, to journey along, to teach, to discipline, to ask for forgiveness — in a nutshell, to “love” my family as Christ loves me. And savoring also means not rushing the experience! Taking time to savor both the joyful and the not-so-joyful. Yes, it is harder to savor those tough moments, those times when I have to make a hard decision or calm ruffled feathers — but rather than being in a hurry to get past it, I can slow down and remember that adversity builds character and suffering unites us with Christ. Maybe the circumstances could be better. They could always be worse. Whatever challenges I may face today, whatever unexpected joys fill my heart, they are all part of this Day’s Masterpiece which God has painted for me! Lord, help me to behold the Masterpiece today and savor it with my whole heart!
1 Excerpt from Meditation of the Day, July 9, 2020, Magnificat (Vol. 22, No. 5)