“Give God the praise for any well spent day.” ~Susanna Wesley
When I found this quote from Susanna Wesley (mother of John and Charles Wesley) earlier this week I instantly thought, “AMEN!” But then I started thinking, “what is a ‘well spent day’?”
Susanna Wesley is often called the “Mother of Methodism” as much of the foundation of John and Charles’s faith came from their mother. Susanna spent her days teaching her children, the boys AND the girls, how to read and write, as well as scripture, song, and prayer. She herself dedicated time outside of chores and teaching to dedicated time reading scripture and praying. For Susanna, I would imagine then that a ‘well spent day’ would mean be a day where the chores were done, the children were taught, and her dedicated time with God was completed and focused. That would be the type of day that God deserved praise for.
But what about me? I certainly have chores and time to spend with God, but I have no children to teach. It makes me ask again, “what is a ‘well spent day’.”
I wonder if a ‘well spent day’ could be any day where we have lived most fully into who God has called us to be, whoever that may be; a day where we have loved God and loved our neighbor as we love ourselves in the ways we are called. But what about those days where we have failed to fully be who God has called us to be throughout the entire day? Does that day where we turned a blind eye to those in need count as a ‘well spent day’? I want to say no, but then how do we justify the fact that scripture calls us time and time again to “praise God?”
This might be one of those moments where I disagree with Susanna and say, “give God the praise for any day.” Or it might be one of those moments where I say, “any day we strive to live out our faith, is a well spent day.”
Or maybe, I’ll take a page from John Wesley and say both “give God the praise for any day” and “any day we strive to live out our faith, is a well spent day” are accurate. And therefore, we are to constantly praise God.
Comment your thoughts below. I curious as to what you think!
Blessings friends,
Pastor Nicole