The Good and the Other Good

It seems to be that we often, almost sulkily, reject the good that God offers because, at that moment, we expected some other good.
 - C.S. Lewis

The sky is blue, but I really wanted a cloudy, grey day. Or, rather, the clouds are dark and menacing, and I was hoping for a day of sunshine. We always seem to be hankering for that which we don't have at that moment, which causes us to not fully enjoy the good of the present. We take for granted that we get to breathe in deeply of good moments of beauty and joyful recognition of our God every day.

The sun rising over the trees, engulfing the lake water with a glow. The giggle of a child. Fresh, homemade bread. A steaming cup of tea. An impromptu conversation of delight.  An old movie that makes you smile. Your favourite book in your hands.

Here it is! The immediate gift we are given in this day!

Taste, see, breathe in deeply of it. It will soon be gone, and if you spend your time aching for anther good, you will miss the imprints these moments of good could make in your memory.

Carolyn Weber, in her wonderful book Surprised by Oxford wrote as a reminder to herself - "but then I remembered that remembering is the antidote to despair."

We should store such good memories deep in our memory books, mentally and in our journals, so that we can come back to visit it with a glad and thankful heart later, remembering that such good gifts come from our Father above.

The good that God offers us isn't always exactly what we had in mind, but it is always good.

To embrace that is to be joyful in the Lord, and to glorify Him through enjoyment of Him through enjoyment of His beautiful gifts.