This morning I stumbled out of bed after waking up twice to the moans of two of my children. Our two year old is in a “climb out of her bed at midnight and get in mommy and daddy’s bed” phase. My eldest son woke up nauseated and dry-throated. By the afternoon, I was driving to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription, that the doctor didn’t charge us to prescribe, and paid fifteen dollars for a ten day cure for my son’s strep throat.
After breakfast, I went for a walk in our neighborhood trails, tree covered and cool, with my wife and kids. My two year old repeatedly said “Hold you,” which means she wants me to hold her. I carried her tiny body around, taking in stretches of plant green, wide-bladed St. Augustine, splinter bark of junipers poking out and up, and guided her tired body through the crushed granite maze. Over a year ago, we received about thirty thousand dollars to make our home affordable.
After a few slices of pepperoni over lunch with an old friend, we walked over to his office, where I got to talk about the unbelievability and hope of the resurrection with the designers at Ptarmak, who are working on covers for my two new books. You just feel creative in their space. They took me on, not because of the profitability of my work but because they are genuinely excited about the projects. I walked away with every confidence that the great art will wrap up the great truths I’m trying to unpack.
I ate dinner with my family, and enjoyed their company, before heading out to teach a class on interpreting poetry to a community I know and love. Together, we got into, under, and around the word so that we can live the truly good life, the blessed life, as we delighted in God’s law and marveled at its wisdom and grace, manifested supremely in the faithful and true Psalm one Man.
Today was marvelous. Sometimes it didn’t seem like it. Interrupted sleep. Sick children. Suspense on cover art. Curious if my teaching would be clear, true, and most of all, carried by the Spirit into the hearts of our people.
Looking back, it was marvelous because Christ was sustaining the created order for me to enjoy, sustaining me to enjoy my kids, well ahead of me in lining up a design firm and a gospel opportunity, present as his word was taught, compelling us all to be fruitful trees planted in the life-giving counsel of Christ. I wish I saw every day like this, backwards, through the eyes of Jesus.