It is the end of the day, and we are all tired from the day’s pursuits. My kids have short fuses because of their weariness and hunger. My wife has carried the responsibility all day to care for our little ones, and when I get home I take over and she works on trying to get a meal (or more likely meals) on the table that everyone will eat. When it is ready, we usually have to coax and cajole our kids into eating what has been prepared. I never would have imagined a kid refusing to eat macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, or potatoes, but that is where we are right now in child development. If more food goes in the stomach than reaches the floor, we call it a moral victory, even if my daughter substitutes the hot dogs for the ketchup as the main course. However, my wife, Samantha, introduced a new tradition in our dinner time routine that has gone a long way to change my attitude about meal times.
This summer, my wife asked each of us, “What was the best part of your day?” This is a simple question, but each time we ask it, I am surprised by what affect it has on me. This meal time question makes me look forward to dinner, yes it is still hard, but everyone’s answer to the question of “What was the best part of your day,” has been redeeming. I move from thinking about the labor and work of the day, to the joy and the opportunities the Lord has given to me in the day. Not only does it change my thinking about my day, it helps us delight in the joy of other people’s experiences in the day as we share them with each other. Many times the best part of our day involves one another, and so it becomes a time to affirm each other. This simple question has taken a hold on our family in a great way. It has helped us move from enduring the day, to celebrating the day together.
Pray with me that we would be a community that would take time to find ways to creatively celebrate what God is doing in our midst so that we might gain strength and encouragement to persevere when life gets hard.
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