24 hours, 1,440 minutes, 86,400 seconds=the length of one entire day. Some days those hours, minutes, and seconds seem to fly by. While other days, those hours, minutes, and days seem to creep on so slowly. Our days begin with sunrise and set with sunset. But the truth is that often in the midst of one entire day, we have moments of both light and dark.

Since the election, at least for me, it often feels like our days are wrapped up in fear and ugliness. In all honesty, there are days I am so ready for those 24 hours to end and be laid to rest; waiting for the sun to rise once again and for a new day to dawn upon us.

In a 24 hour period, one can try to get a lot done. But more and more I am realizing that it isn’t about just me. We need to work together; to educate and to help bring about joy and love for all God’s people. Too many people are living in fear of the next day; our LGTBQ+ friends, our Muslim friends, our Trans friends, our immigrant and refugee friends, our black and brown friends, and so so so many others.

I am afraid for those who live in fear for the next day. When I was in college, my friend Chewy transferred to another school. He was only at that school a few months when we got the phone call that he had committed suicide. Chewy didn’t want to see a new day dawn. There was so much eating away at him.  How many of us struggle with anxiety as a new day dawns? It is hard to live in that reality, but the truth is, my friends, we/you are never alone. Together we can rise to the rising of a new day.

Each new day, my heart yearns for peace, justice and mercy to reign and in the midst of that waiting, I will do my best to share God’s love especially to those that are different than me. I think of my own mom who has lived my whole life with a mental illness. She seriously would give the shirt off of her back to a person in need. She relishes her time with my sister and I when we visit. She continually is teaching me to bask in the joy and love rather than in the anxiousness of moving onto the next thing. She treasures each second, minute, and hour we are together.

In the end, I want each day and each season to reflect God’s love to all the world. I want every day to be a season of love. In the midst of Lent and the journey to the cross, I want to continually choose life.

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham. to Isaac and to Jacob.”–Deuteronomy 30:19-20