I wonder if you’ve seen the movie Groundhog Day. It’s that film where Bill Murray plays a TV weatherman who is on assignment covering the annual groundhog day event. And while he’s there he gets caught in a time-loop that makes him live the same day over and over again. Sound familiar? Does that feel like your experience these days?

I’ve been thinking about the verse that says, “This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.” And challenged by the thought that every day is a new gift from God, and we shouldn’t be caught just living the same day over and over again. So I’ve decided to offer us a few suggestions about how NOT to live that way – how to live each day as a gift from God.

Four suggestions:

1. Consistency – it seems opposite of what you’d think I’d suggest, but living with consistency is not about living in a rut, but rather living healthy rhythms. Living regular patterns that we establish. Rhythms of resting and working and playing and relating to others and God. These routines establish a base-line of spiritual, mental, emotional and relational vitality. Consistency around the essential things of life. If you’re like us, you have a schedule on your refrigerator reminding yourselves of who has what responsibilities when throughout the day. Enabling yourselves to juggle your rhythms together and keeping your days ordered. And so I encourage you to find some consistency as you make your way through your days throughout this season.

2. Creativity – Creativity is “bringing into existence something new” as we stretch the boundaries of our thought and imagination through creative expression. I think it’s important each day for us to find an avenue for creative outlet. This could be through learning a new skill – taking up a new instrument or learning how to cook or taking time to paint or write or leaning into some hobby. I’ve tapped into a childhood passion of magic and my girls and I have been learning some magic tricks and sharing them with folks online. Stretching your creativity is important during this season.

3. Generosity – Generosity always gets yourself out of the smallness of your life; out of the limits of your own circumstances and allows you to think about how to bless other people. We’ve been talking about this for quite some time at Grace. But this is a time to really lean into being generous. Especially at a time when it’s so easy to allow our anxieties to keep us retreating inward – when it’s easy to allow our fears to force us to circle the wagons around our own lives. We expand our horizons when we look outward and ask, “how can I be generous with what I’ve been given.” Maybe it’s writing a note of appreciation to people who are serving somewhere on the front lines of the current epidemic. Maybe it’s sending a money gift to someone you know who is in a difficult financial season because of a loss of job or loss of income. Finding moments of generosity is really important.

4. Sabbath – so many of us are working 24/7 these days with zoom calls and constant emails or phone meetings. It’s so easy to get caught up in the steady stream that we don’t take

time to unplug and unwind. Sabbath is “resting to enjoy God’s good gifts”. It’s in Sabbath keeping that we allow our mind, body, and spirit to settle, rest, and rejuvenate. The fact is, we’re living in New England during one of the most beautiful times of year – as spring blossoms into summer. God’s gifts to us are evident everywhere we look. Sabbath is going on a walk and enjoying the beauty as life bursts forth. It’s recognizing the good things that God has given to us even in this difficult stretch of life. It’s taking time to not only enjoy God’s gifts, but also to give Him glory by offering Him words of gratitude and praise.

Consistency, Creativity, Generosity, and Sabbath.

These things will keep us from living ‘groundhog days’ and enable us to meet each day as a new gift from God.

“This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!”