Thursday 17 January 2019

A lovely day

It has been such a lovely day.

When I blogged about Pearl yesterday, so many friends blessed me, and said they were praying for me; it's been like spiritual sun-bathing!

Here in the edge of England, after a night of rain, the sky cleared and the sun came out this morning, shining through myriad raindrops like a humungous chandelier. So beautiful. 

And I made myself a sensible lunch that came out really successful — I had some gravy in the freezer to defrost, and my potatoes were cooked just right, and the Brussels sprouts were delicious and I had a bit of orange juice left over and some ice cubes to make it just right. 

And some work had come in that wasn't eye-crossingly difficult but something I knew about and could easily do. So I was neither bored nor terrified. I just felt happy.

Then another writer has given me a copy of a book she's written that was on my Amazon wish list — and I'm so looking forward to reading it by the fire while everyone else here is out at their choir this evening.

And for my supper I have some really good bread from the whole food co-operative in Hastings, with some cream cheese that has smoked salmon in to go on it.

Really, life couldn't be more utterly perfect. 

Er . . . I hope your day has been okay too, and I haven't made you want to go out and shoot yourself now . . .

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not at all persuaded to shoot myself. My day also was perfect, partly because I really don't mind ripping out mistakes in my knitting and starting over, partly because I've recently learned I LIKE the taste of plain yogurt (after years of eating the sugary variety), partly because I was able to find some time for a bit more Kondo Tidying.

So happy for your Lovely Day!!

The less it takes to please us, the more often we get to be pleased.

Rapunzel

Helen said...

So glad that today has been such a lovely day for you Pen. The simplest of days are the best, aren’t they? Such a blessing. X

Anonymous said...

I've had a funny (strange) day.
My husband was admitted to hospital yesterday because he's been getting very
breathless for no apparent reason. He was diagnosed as having Silent Angina which
means that his type of angina doesn't cause pain. It's common in diabetics because
diabetes affects nerve endings.
Tomorrow he's going to have an angiogram which is especially risky for him because he
has haemophilia.
However, I feel wrapped in God's peace and unusually for me, I'm not fretting and panicking.
Father is gracious and in control. Although I'm exhausted physically ( my disability causes
me severe pain when I have to do practical tasks), I feel very calm. I've also had lots
of supportive messages & prayers from our church family. So, although it's not
been a 'good' day, in lots of ways I've seen God's love for Alan & me.

Pen Wilcock said...

Hi Rapunzel — I've been surprised how one's sense of taste adjusts without sugar — how sweet vegetables taste, for example. I like plain yoghourt too, especially the Greek sort.

Hi Helen — yes, the simplest days are always the best.

Hi Anonymous — I had never heard of silent angina. It sounds as though you had a tiring and challenging day at your end. May you continue to be wrapped in God's peace, and may God's purposes be fulfilled through your life and Alan's.

Rebecca said...

"Spiritual sunbathing"! I'm going to start thinking of it that way! I was uplifted vicariously while reading your personal account. ❤️

Pen Wilcock said...

:0D

xx

Bean said...

A day to treasure. The simple things in life make us the happiest.

May you be blessed with many more simple, wonderful days of spiritual sunbathing :)

Peace,

Bean

greta said...

everyone deserves one of those days (which don't happen all that often) when everything seems just right. so happy that you were blessed with such a day. i love what rapunzel said, 'the less it takes to please us, the more often we get to be pleased.' more words of wisdom to copy into my book of quotations : ) are you familiar with the poet mary oliver? she died yesterday and there are so many lovely tributes that also quote her poems. she was one of those who could see the beauty in nature and a simple life. words to live by; words to treasure.

Anonymous said...

Hi Penelope,
That sounds so nice! It really is the simple things and the time to savor them that make life most enjoyable!
DMW

Pen Wilcock said...

Bean — Thank you, my friend. xx

Greta — Mary Oliver died yesterday? I hadn't heard. Oh, she was a wonderful, wonderful poet. I love her work.

DMW — Hello — waving from England! x

Sandra Ann said...

Love this photo of you!

No I don't want to shoot myself even though I have been managing a sick bay at this end!! So far Dave and I are well, mega doses of garlic, echinacea, and vitamin C.

To to some my day might not sound perfect, but it has been, both kids are on the mend, Ben's blood sugars have stabilised and Dave and I have quiet reading time during the day whilst the kids slept!! Happy Friyay to you Pen xx

Pen Wilcock said...

May you stay well, both of you, and may the kiddies soon be completely recovered. Good to hear that Ben's bloods are behaving! x

Sandra Ann said...

❤️😀

Suzan said...

The very best thing about your day was that you recognised it for the treasure it was. Much love.

Pen Wilcock said...

That's such a good point, Suzan! Back in 2008, I had a space in my life to consider the way forward, and at that time I decided I would only, from that point on do the things I believed I came here to do; nothing else. I thought carefully about what those were over a period of a few months, and I felt strongly that one of the reasons I came here to experience life on Earth was to delight in the beauty and the particularities of physical experience.
At the time I was thinking through all this, I made friends with an artist in our street, a Quaker, and she told me she called this "making time to see the wren on the fence" — leaving space to wonder and drink in life's glory and blessing.
I don't want to prolong my days on Earth, and I contribute very little to the lives of others, but watching the clouds and the birds, the dawn and sunset, looking at sunlight on brick walls and the colours of moss, watching the sunlight sparkle on the ocean, and looking up at Mars and Venus in the evening sky, the frost on grass . . . sitting by the fire watching the ember glow and smelling the fragrance of burning wood . . . the taste of freshly made carrot and apple juice, or a globe artichoke with vinaigrette dressing — oh, I wouldn't have missed all that for anything!