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From Glory to Glory
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, young men stumble and fall; those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:29-31
You began your day bleary eyed, maybe a bit grumpy. The memory of yesterday’s glories lingered when you awoke, but like a sweet dream dissolved by salty reality. The day ahead suddenly appeared daunting. But then you heard the verse caress your weary morning mind “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) So, in spite of the groaning of your flesh, you arise. Your feet hit the floor and you proceed to do what you have done for countless days past. You dedicate your day to God, and was God’s grace unfold.
As keen light of an autumn morning vies for position in the encroaching winter sky, you shuffle over the gravel path on the way to work, fumbling for keys or coffee. Your mind is pensive with the thought of today’s tasks. Your flesh is saying: nothing special is going to happen today. It’s just plain work. That’s when you hear the sound of a hymn in the chapel, the chirp of children’s voices, or a warm chuckle from a co-worker melt the frigid morning air. Then an eagle glides just overhead, close enough to hear the wind whisper through its feathers. Suddenly you’re singing along with the hymn, celebrating a small joy with a child, and laughing along with your co-worker. A new day is born, and you find yourself in the midst of a work you love, and you wouldn’t trade it for the world. You have mounted up on wings like an eagle, soaring over fields of wildflowers rising to the mountains.
Of course, things won’t always be that way. Mountaintop minutes are usually outnumbered by weeks in the valleys. In My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers states it well: “We are not built for the mountains and dawns…we are built for the valley, for the ordinary stuff we are in.” But one of the great miracles in the Christian life happens when the ordinary becomes the extraordinary. To experience this, all I must do is look around me, and see. I see children make simple arts and crafts, pouring their whole heart into cutting paper and gluing bits of yarn and ribbon. I see them make a pile of dirt and pebbles on the playground, but to them they’re constructing a great building and they proclaim it to the world. I see them shout for joy when they realize they can write a new letter. I see a child upset by another, but then one says “I’m sorry,” the other says “I forgive you,” and they go on playing.
I see my fellow childcare workers share their gifts. I see them act as solid role models for the children. Even during stressful times, when the kids are wily and the day is mean, they display patience, compassion and good cheer. I see them climb trees on the challenge course in foul weather, proclaiming words of courage and faith to frightened kids. I see administrative staff keep the offices orderly and inviting, tackling paperwork, answering phones and troubleshooting with grace and poise. I see food bank workers distribute food to the poor, bending their backs lifting boxes while blessing someone’s day with a kind word. I see them toil at the thrift store, sorting through bags of old clothes and incidentals, dusting them off and giving them a new life on the shelf. I see our beloved chef, stirring love into wonderful meals to help nourish our staff for the week ahead. I see volunteers climb up on roofs, patch up buildings, grate the road, run trees through a saw mill, crawl under oily, broken cars, or even scrape barnacles off the bottom of a boat.
I see these things and more every day at the Mission. I see the ordinary transfigured to the extraordinary, not because people are doing work, filling spaces, and completing tasks, but because in each of these things I see something far greater. I see God’s glory.
Prayer: Lord fill us with your strength to carry out our days for You. Let us do those every day things so when we do have a mountaintop moment, we will recognize when its’ there. Help us to understand that everything we do should be in Your Name. This we pray today, and every day. Amen.
If you would like more information on Kodiak Baptist Mission (KBM), go to www.kodiakbaptistmission.org, or email the Mission at kbm@kodiakbaptistmission.org. The mission is looking for young adult (18 & older) volunteers for the summer of 2008. Email KBM for more information.
David Kitzler
Preschool/Daycare Teacher
Kodiak Baptist Mission
Kodiak, AK
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