Sometimes it’s hard to get out of bed in the morning. I turn on my bedside radio and hear more of our president’s lies and mean-spirited insults. I picture Rep. Adam  Schiff’s weary face as he tries to keep the House Intelligence committee on task instead of caving in to  the president’s bidding to make the Russian probe go away.

I wonder if my husband’s pain will be easier to bear today and what my blood glucose test strip will reveal when I test it in a few minutes. I re-consider the ongoing argument with the pharmacy about my husband’s partially refilled prescription. I rue the fact that our savings account will soon be diminished by nearly $500 when I fill my next insulin prescription.

I think about the endless routine of keeping a household going: cars that get dirty as we leave the car wash; dishes that stack up on the kitchen counter ten minutes after the washed and dried ones have been restored to the cabinet; toilets and sinks and bathtubs and floors that need endless cleaning; meals that need to be thought about almost as soon as we finish this one.   

Why bother getting out of bed?

And then I see sunshine sliver through the gray clouds. I remember the extraordinary ordinariness of Creation – the innate routines that wake up daffodils in spring, efficiently recycle snowfall to replenish creek beds and lakes, and guide the migrating birds to and fro.  

I hear again the reassuring melodies of Amazing Grace. I read a beautifully crafted sentence. I look at a scene of purple and red wildflowers my granddaughter painted for me. I watch an artisan creating astonishing blown-glass pieces on TV.

Several people (some I don’t even know) send me notes thanking me for something I wrote; others comment or “like” my blog. Someone offers me a ride – meaning that I don’t have to drive on the slippery roads. I see the flash of understanding on the face of a class member as the value of surrendering control and being powerless finally makes sense. 

Why do I get out of bed? Because people I love are counting on me. Because I can handle anything if I remember to take “one day at a time.” Because God’s image can be found in all people; all is not hopeless. Because Jesus told me (and you), “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” and “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. . . . Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”