The Dailies

You’ve probably heard, in movie vernacular, of the “dailies”. This is a term used for raw, unedited footage shot during a single day of film or television production. The purpose is to record everything, realizing that much will end up on the cutting room floor because it holds little interest. But there are stories of directors who have found hidden gems in the dailies – moments and scenes that originally might have been overlooked, but once reviewed were shown to be valuable! 

Daily life is kind of that way. It may look very ordinary or even mundane at times. Maybe it seems to be filled with “normal stuff” that wouldn’t be movie-worthy. But every day matters. Every day has behind-the-scenes moments. No day is stagnant. You might just have to trust that something is always growing, always changing.  And in this season, from one 24-hour period to the next, it can be hard for me to distinguish real progress in my health. Maybe I feel a tad less light-headed when I quickly stand up, or maybe I can walk a couple more laps on the driveway. But getting my health back happens slowly, methodically, and often, invisibly. 

That’s where faith comes in. I have been told by brilliant medical minds that my body will get stronger, so I not only believe that truth but I move forward trusting things are progressing in that direction, whether I notice the improvements or not. We all have these ordinary days when “leaps and bounds” may not be noticed, but steady growth is indeed happening.

The dailies. 

Living in the dailies is definitely a Biblical concept. And if you’re asking, where do we find that in scripture?  Hmmm . . . all over the place. A few that come to mind are:

Moses and God’s people in the wilderness being fed with manna and quail and being told to only pick up what they would need for each day. No hoarding and storing. One day at a time . . . 

Of course the dailies are found in Jesus’ teaching of the Sermon on the Mount about the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. The premise is that God supplies their daily need without them even asking for it. They are so very cared for . . . and we are more precious than flowers or birds. This section ends with a powerful passage: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34)

I’m also reminded of these scriptures:

“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” (Psalm 68:19)

“Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11)

Each day, we are called to trust the Lord for provision, for purpose to be lived out, and for the knowledge that God is working all things together for our good whether we can see it or not. 

I know I’ve talked a lot about my hair, and lack of it, through these posts. This is probably because it continues to be the most “in my face” (or around my face – haha!) picture of what this disease has done to my body. Now that the chemo treatments are finished, my hair has been predicted to return. When I look in the mirror, yes I see some “peach fuzz”, but I await the day I start seeing those nubs of hope start popping out again. If I watch for these by the hour, by the day, or even sometimes by the week, I will be disappointed. Where are they?? But if I trust that God is restoring and renewing those follicles whether I’m able to visualize them or not, I’m going to be a lot more content. And probably happier when the nubs DO pop out! 

Our home has been a haven for the dailies. We moved to Bowling Green last July, had a very full fall schedule, received my diagnosis in December and now here we are. I wish all of you could see this lovely, peaceful place where we live. Our home is on a couple of acres surrounded by farmland (These fields rotate corn and soybeans. This year, corn is the crop of choice. And yes, this is in our backyard). 

We are “in the country” and yet very accessible to all things Bowling Green. This home has been an amazing haven for me to rest, recover, be still, know that He is God . . . all of the above. Years ago, when I experienced my detached retina (see previous post), the Lord opened my heart in a fresh way to a very familiar verse – “He makes me lie down in green pastures” (Psalm 23:2a). And if you read that verse stressing the word “makes”, it gives those words new meaning – He makes me lie down in green pastures. In this season, God has made me lie down in the greenest of pastures – literally and figuratively! What pastures could be greener and more restful to me than my own home? And in the dailies, I find myself with such a strong awareness of the Lord’s provision, preparation, and attention to detail in saying, “I knew you would face a difficult pathway. But here’s a beautiful place for you to live as you heal and get stronger.”

I have had so many friends/family reach out via text, a phone call, FB Messenger, or other ways to tell me the Lord brought me to their mind that day. How am I doing? How can they pray? Sometimes, we are in the midst of the dailies – with not a lot to report, not a lot that seems to be going on – but this causes me to reflect on God’s intentional care for me simply in the knowledge that He put my name and my story on the heart of someone else. The beginning of Hebrews 3:13 says this, “Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today’ . . .” We understand what daily encouragement looks like, in the deepest of ways, right now. And how grateful we are! 

We all know this about ourselves – we live in a fast-paced, microwavable, “get it now” world. More than ever before! Dick and I love that we can order something on Amazon and sometimes receive it the same day. And we can have groceries delivered to our home within the next couple of hours if we so desire. That kind of culture does not lend itself to a “take one day at a time” lifestyle. To help me get stronger, I’m eating healthy, I’m exercising to my limits . . . and I’d love to see instant results! I’d love to wake up tomorrow with a full head of hair and the energy to run a marathon (okay, that would be a little much since running a marathon has never been on my radar – haha!). But again, the Lord’s way for me (and for you) is slow and steady. One step at a time. Daily. 

So what’s the takeaway from the lesson of the dailies? For myself, and for any who read this, here are couple of things that come to mind:

1. Don’t rush the Lord. His timing is perfect and in the season I am in, I’m called to abide in Him minute by minute until He moves me into what is next. While this has been a period of unknowns and a time when we have lived life completely different than we ever have before, it has also brought a front row seat of watching God do what only He can do and taking us deeper than we could have gone otherwise. I’m learning to not only trust His ways, but also trust His schedule.

• Even in the ordinary days, open your eyes to God’s blessings. Believe me, they can be right in front of you. Recognize He is working . . . all the time. And He gives us little bright spots along the way that, if we’re watchful, we will be encouraged by. 

Our front porch has two affixed little planters. Right now, each of them has a small ivy which we hope will fill out and beautifully frame this area. But several months ago, we looked in one of these planters and found these: 

The gorgeous blue eggs opened up to these:

And we were able to daily watch as the father and the mother robins cared for each one of these little birds. Every day, one of the parents would swoop into the nest with a big worm in their mouth. As the babies grew, their necks would stick up out of the nest with such eagerness, as if to say, “Feed ME this time! Hey dad, look at ME!”

And of course, all four birds were cared for perfectly, in God’s design. Each and every day. We were sad to see them all fly away, but also recognized the Lord’s timely, daily care for them. 

I’m sure you get the tie in for us. It’s almost like the Lord put that nest outside our front window just to model His parental, daily care for us. We got the point. 

“Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.” (Matthew 6:26, The Message)

Since December, one of the hardest things we’ve dealt with is not being able to see our 10 grandchildren. Yes, we have been on FaceTime with them, we’ve called on their birthdays, we’ve sent messages through their parents. But we haven’t hugged them. We haven’t been in the same room. This will end in June and July, as one of our first goals will be to visit each family and spend some time together. Our grands range from age 15 down to 22 months. And as you can imagine, I’m sure we will be surprised at how much they’ve grown. It’s one thing to see them on a screen and think “wow, they look like they are getting taller”. It’s another thing to be next to one who used to come to your shoulder and is now looking you straight in the eye! Their physical growth didn’t happen overnight though. How funny would it be to see a child who is 10 years old standing at a height of 4’ 9” and the next day they are up to 5’ 5”. Guiness’ Book of World Records would need to come and visit! No, growth happens little by little. Daily. 

So I am learning to trust God in the dailies. He is guiding the ship. There’s movement. There’s hope. There’s growth. And in 6 months, I’m sure I’ll look back and realize a lot more than I do now. Be encouraged that if the Lord is seeming to work slower than you’d like Him to and be further in the background than you are comfortable with, His purposes are perfectly being fulfilled.  Don’t miss what God is doing . . . in the dailies.  

“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.”
(Ephesians 1:11-12)