Learning to savor my "normal days"

"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are." 

 
Currently, my day consists of changing diapers, laundry, cooking, cleaning, and entertaining a two-year-old. I love it. I consider it a blessing to be doing these things each day. However, I imagine like many of you, I have fleeting moments where I find myself wishing for a future phase of life. Thoughts like, "It will be so nice when Jake is done with grad school," or "It will be so nice when M is potty trained,"or even, "It will be so nice when I can go back to teaching." 

This week the Lord has reminded me about the importance of finding joy in the journey--something I sometimes forget to do. I was inspired by a piece of writing I stumbled upon that was written by Mary Jean Irion. These are the closing paragraphs of an essay she wrote: 

A normal day! Holding it in my hand this one last moment, I have come to see it as more than an ordinary rock. It is a gem, a jewel. In time of war, in peril of death, people have dug their hands and faces into the earth and remembered this. In time of sickness and pain, people have buried their faces in pillows and wept for this. In time of loneliness and separation, people have stretched themselves taut and waited for this. In time of hunger, homelessness, and want, people have raised bony hands to the skies and stayed alive for this….

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, savor you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it will not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky, and want more than all the world your return. And then I will know what now I am guessing: that you are, indeed, a common rock and not a jewel, but that a common rock made of the very mass substance of the earth in all its strength and plenty puts a gem to shame. 

The day is over, and now I will sleep. 

These paragraphs are beautifully written and full of wisdom. We have probably all been guilty of wishing away a normal day "...in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow." During the stressful and mundane moments of motherhood, it is sometimes easy to lose sight of what a treasure it really is. After finding these words of wisdom, I have really tried to make a conscientious effort to find joy in the journey of each day! There is so much happiness to be had in changing diapers, folding laundry, and being with my child. I know there will come a day when I will yearn to have these precious days back.