When the Ordinary Days Are Part of the Blessing
Sometimes we become so focused on the special day ahead that we overlook the days surrounding it. Psalm 90:12 reminds us to notice today’s ordinary blessings before they become memories.
Learning to notice God in the days I might otherwise hurry through
Scripture Focus
Psalm 90:12 (NRSVUE)
“So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.”
My son gets married in seven days.
Even writing those words feels a little strange after months of planning, creating, checking lists, changing plans, fixing things I thought were finished, and watching the date slowly move closer.
Seven days.
There are still things I could be doing at home. There are probably things I have forgotten. I am sure my mind will remind me of several of them at inconvenient times this week.
But I am not home spending these final days surrounded by wedding preparations.
I am away helping my daughter with the kids while she works.
So while part of my mind is counting down to one of the biggest days our family will celebrate this year, my actual days this week look remarkably ordinary.
Meals. Snacks. Little voices. Toys. Helping where I am needed. Being Mom. Being Grammy.
And it struck me how easily I could treat these seven days as something I simply need to get through before the important day arrives.
Except these days are important too.
I do not want to become so busy counting the days until something beautiful happens that I forget something beautiful is already happening in the days I am counting.
What Does Psalm 90:12 Mean?
Psalm 90 is attributed to Moses, and it is much deeper than a simple reminder to appreciate every moment.
The psalm reflects on the everlasting nature of God and the shortness of human life. It acknowledges sorrow, mortality, uncertainty, and how quickly our years pass.
Then Moses prays:
“So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.”
Counting our days is not about becoming anxious about how much time we have left.
It is about recognizing that our days are limited and asking God to teach us how to live them wisely.
That matters because I can so easily divide life into important days and ordinary days.
The wedding day?
Important.
The week before the wedding while I am helping with grandchildren.
Ordinary.
But Scripture keeps reminding me that God is not only present in the milestones.
He is present here too.
Perhaps part of gaining a wise heart is learning to notice the day we are actually living instead of always reaching for the one that comes next.
When I Am Always Waiting for the Next Thing
I have caught myself doing this many times.
Once this is finished.
Once we get through this week.
Once that appointment is over.
Once the wedding gets here.
Once life settles down.
There always seems to be something on the other side of today.
Sometimes it is something wonderful we are looking forward to. Sometimes it is something difficult we simply want behind us.
Either way, it is easy to become so focused on reaching the future that we barely experience now.
I understand why.
There has been a lot happening in my life, and this wedding has been on the calendar for a long time. I have spent hours making things by hand and thinking about details that probably will not matter nearly as much once everyone is actually together.
Now we are down to seven days.
I could spend this week mentally living at the wedding.
Instead, God has placed me somewhere else entirely.
With my daughter.
With the kids.
Inside ordinary family life.
Maybe that is not an interruption to this special season.
Maybe it is part of it.
The Generations Around Me
There is something about this particular week that I do not want to miss.
I am helping one of my children with her children while preparing to watch another of my children make his marriage vows.
Somewhere along the way, the children I raised became adults with lives of their own.
Of course, I watched them grow. I was there for birthdays, school years, difficult seasons, celebrations, mistakes, changes, and all the ordinary moments in between.
But there was not one particular morning when I woke up and thought:
There. They are grown now.
It happened one ordinary day at a time.
And now I am Grammy.
I am helping with grandchildren while counting down the days until my son’s wedding.
There is something humbling about standing in the middle of generations like that.
It reminds me that life does not usually announce which moments we will someday miss.
Most of them simply look like Tuesday.
A cup left on the counter.
A little hand reaching for yours.
Someone asking for another snack.
A child calling your name from another room.
A conversation with your grown daughter before she heads to work.
None of these moments arrive with flowers or photographers.
But that does not make them insignificant.
God Is Present in the Unremarkable
We often expect to notice God most clearly in the moments that feel unmistakably spiritual.
Church.
Prayer.
Scripture.
A major answer we have been waiting for.
A celebration we have prayed toward for months.
Those moments matter.
But Scripture is filled with a God who meets people in ordinary places.
Jesus ate meals with people.
He sat at tables.
He walked dusty roads.
He welcomed children.
He noticed people others overlooked.
He attended a wedding.
He entered homes.
The extraordinary ministry of Jesus unfolded through countless ordinary human moments.
That challenges the way I sometimes think about my own days.
Maybe I do not need something profound to happen today for today to matter.
Maybe being present with the people God has placed in front of me is enough.
Still Walking This Journey?
If you are learning to notice Christ in both the difficult and beautiful parts of ordinary life, I would love for you to continue walking this journey with me.
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When Being Needed Interrupts My Plans
This week also reminds me of something I have been learning repeatedly.
Love is rarely convenient.
There have been days when plans changed because my family needed me.
I have written before about caring for my granddaughter when a family emergency changed what I thought my day would look like. I had imagined a quiet morning with my laptop and coffee. Instead, there were toys, toast, little feet, and a cup of coffee that went cold while I was being needed.
I remember realizing that the interruption was not keeping me from the important work of the day.
Love was the important work.
This week is different because I am here intentionally to help my daughter while she works, but the lesson feels familiar.
I can look at everything waiting for me elsewhere and feel as though I should be doing something more productive.
Or I can look at the people in front of me.
Maybe one of the ways God teaches us to count our days is by teaching us to stop measuring them only by what we accomplish.
Some days are productive.
Some are memorable.
Some are exhausting.
Some are all three.
And some look completely ordinary until years later, when we would give almost anything to experience one of them again.
I Do Not Want Preparation to Steal the Joy of Getting There
I have spent a lot of time preparing for this wedding.
And I love that.
There are things I have made with my hands because love made me want to make them.
There have also been lists, changes, questions, and moments when something I thought was finished suddenly was not.
That is part of preparing for a big family event.
But now that we are this close, I do not want preparation to steal the joy of getting there.
The goal was never a flawless wedding day.
The goal is to gather together while two people we love make promises about the life they are choosing to build.
Something may not go exactly according to plan.
A detail may be forgotten.
Something may need to be adjusted at the last minute.
That is okay.
Because the people are more important than the details.
And perhaps I need that reminder before the wedding rather than after it.
What If You Are Waiting for Something Too?
Maybe you are not seven days away from a wedding.
But perhaps you are waiting for something.
A vacation.
A new job.
Retirement.
A move.
A new baby.
A visit with someone you love.
An appointment.
An answer.
Or maybe you are simply waiting for Friday because this week has already felt much too long.
There is nothing wrong with anticipation.
Hope gives us something to look toward.
But there is a difference between looking forward to tomorrow and overlooking today.
That is the part I keep thinking about.
What might be happening in your life right now that does not look important enough to notice?
Who is sitting across the table?
Who keeps calling your name?
What ordinary routine would you miss terribly if one day it disappeared?
What goodness has become so familiar that you barely see it anymore?
We do not have to manufacture gratitude for every moment.
Some days are genuinely hard.
Psalm 90 itself makes room for that reality.
But even in an imperfect season, we can still ask:
Lord, what do I not want to miss today?
Seven Days I Will Never Have Again
There is only one week in my life when I will be able to say:
My son gets married seven days from today.
Next week, I will be able to say something completely different.
The wedding will have happened.
The things we made will have been used.
The vows will have been spoken.
There will be photographs.
There will be memories.
And life will continue.
But right now, I am still on this side of it.
I am a mother anticipating her son’s wedding.
I am a grandmother helping with the grandchildren.
I am a mom helping my daughter.
I am standing between generations and realizing again just how quickly life changes.
So I do not want to rush these seven days.
I want to notice them.
Not every minute. I am realistic enough to know I will still get distracted, tired, and probably worried about something that does not deserve quite as much attention as I give it.
But I can return to today.
Again and again.
I have seven days left to prepare for the wedding, but I also have seven days left to experience the anticipation of it.
I do not want to miss one while preparing for the other.
Maybe the Blessing Has Already Begun
Psalm 90 asks God to teach us to count our days.
I am beginning to understand why we need to be taught.
Because I naturally count toward things.
Seven days until the wedding.
Five days until Friday.
Two weeks until vacation.
Three months until Christmas.
But perhaps God wants to teach me another way of counting.
Not:
How many days until?
But:
What has God given me in this day?
Today, He has given me family.
He has given me people to love.
He has given me another day to be Mom and Grammy.
He has given me anticipation for something beautiful that is coming.
And He has given me today itself.
Maybe joy is not something I need to save for the wedding.
Maybe the blessing has already begun.
A Gentle Practice for This Week
If you find yourself rushing toward the next thing, try asking three simple questions at the end of the day:
- What did I almost overlook today?
- Who did God give me an opportunity to love?
- What ordinary moment am I thankful I was here to experience?
You do not need profound answers.
Maybe your answer is coffee with your spouse.
A grandchild’s laugh.
Ten quiet minutes.
A text from someone you love.
Dinner around the table.
Sunlight through the window.
Or simply realizing:
I was here for this day.
That is enough.
Questions for Reflection
- Am I currently living toward a future date instead of being present in the days leading to it?
- What ordinary part of my life might I someday realize was precious?
- Who has God placed in front of me to love today?
- Have I been measuring the value of my days primarily by what I accomplish?
- What would it look like to ask God to help me truly notice this season while I am still living it?
A Prayer for Not Missing Today
Lord,
Thank You for today.
Not only for the big days I anticipate, the celebrations I prepare for, or the moments I know I will remember.
Thank You for this ordinary day too.
Teach me to count my days with wisdom.
When my mind races ahead, bring me back to the people and moments in front of me.
Help me notice the little things I so easily overlook.
Thank You for my family, for the generations around me, for the privilege of being needed, and for the love hidden inside ordinary routines.
When preparations become stressful, remind me what we are actually preparing to celebrate.
When I become focused on getting somewhere else, remind me that You are already here.
And when this season has passed and these days have become memories, let me be able to say that I did not rush through all of them.
Teach me to receive today before I reach for tomorrow.
Amen.
Continue Your Journey
If this reflection has reminded you to slow down and notice the sacredness of ordinary life, these devotionals may be a meaningful next step.
The Holy Work I Didn’t Schedule
Sometimes the moments that interrupt our plans become the very places where God is asking us to love. This reflection explores what can happen when caregiving, changed plans, and ordinary family needs become the meaningful work right in front of us.
Continue with The Holy Work I Didn’t Schedule →
When Gratitude Finds Me First
Gratitude does not require us to pretend everything is easy. Sometimes it begins by noticing the goodness that is already present in the middle of an imperfect day.
Continue with When Gratitude Finds Me First →
The Seating Chart on My Dining Room Table
Wedding preparation has a way of reminding us that unfinished things do not always need to steal our peace. This reflection looks at learning to live with changing plans while remembering what matters most.
A Free Resource for the Journey
If you would like a quiet way to slow down and spend some time with God, the 30 Prayer Journaling Prompts for the Weary Heart can help you put words around what you are carrying, notice what God may be showing you, and make space for honest prayer.
There is no pressure to complete them all at once. Choose one prompt, take a few quiet minutes, and begin there.
Still Walking This Journey?
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Call to Connect
Is there an ordinary moment in your life right now that you are realizing you do not want to rush past?
You are welcome to share in the comments, or simply ask for prayer if you are finding it difficult to stay present in the season you are living. You never need to share private details.
Share Your Story
Has God ever helped you recognize that an ordinary season was more meaningful than you realized while you were living it?
Your story may encourage someone else to notice God’s presence in the everyday moments they are tempted to overlook.
