This is the day!! Be glad wouldya?

The day Mark went to the hospital started out like all the rest of our days.  We laughed at a sticker on his arm.  When I asked him what he wanted for breakfast, he said the same thing that he said every single morning for years "I'll have a couple of egg sandwiches."  We joked about all the craft projects he made Andrea work on the day earlier.  It was a great day.  So great, as a matter of fact, that I wrote on my facebook status February 17, 2013, "This is the day the Lord has made...what shall we do about it?"  The answer is in the bible:   "Rejoice and be glad in it."

When I wrote that in the morning, God knew that it was the day He had made and knew that it was the day Mark was going to leave this house and get ready for his home in heaven.  Since then, I have thought about those words I typed and  I wonder how in the world I can rejoice and be glad about that!  Why, of all days for me to post "that" verse, did I choose February 17?

On April 11, I received a devotional in the mail that I had ordered because a friend who lost her husband recommended it to me.  It is called "Jesus Calling"   April 11 was a Thursday and Mark passed away on a Thursday.  I was busy loading up some of his possessions to give away and crying again as the mail was delivered.  I unwillingly opened up the devotional to April 11 and I could hear the crack of the spine in the book as it opened for the first time.  Who really cares what this book says, I thought in my mind.  Nothing is going to help me get through this.

I stood there in awe of how God used a book, a day, and a verse from His Word to talk to me once again...

Here is what it said on April 11:
THIS IS THE DAY THAT I HAVE MADE, Rejoice and be glad in it.  Begin the day with open hands of faith, ready to receive all that I am pouring into this brief portion of your life.  Be careful not to complain about anything, even the weather, since I am the Author of your circumstances.  The best way to handle unwanted situations is to thank Me for them.  This act of faith frees you from resentment and frees Me to work My ways into the situation so that good emerges from it.
To find Joy in this day, you must live within it's boundaries.  I knew what I was doing when I divided time into 24 hour segments.  I understand human frailty, and I know that you can bear the weight of only one day at a time.  Do not worry about tomorrow or get stuck in the past.  There is abundant Life in My Presence today.

There is nothing more I can add to this... it's just beyond my explanation which is what God does all the time...again and again and again!