Sun is up, a new day is before you
Sun is up, wake your sleepy soul
Sun is up, hold on to what is yours
Take up your spade and break ground
-Sara Watkins
Welcome to this new day O people of God! It is a new day of possibility.
The story of the day has not been written, and here is the awesome thing about the day: God has given you the opportunity to help write the story of this day. There is love to be shared this day, and you get to be the one to decide how it is shared. You get to walk where you feel compelled. You get to shape the lives of those whom you choose with God’s unconditional love. You get the chance to pick up your spade and break ground.
And, here is the thing that is even cooler, you have been equipped with all that you need to do the important task of planting the love of Christ today. All you need is…well…you. Really that is all you need. Jesus allows you to take a walking stick if you like for the journey, but other than that, you have all you need to make a difference in your world today. That statement is true for both the richest of us and the poorest of us.
Do not be caught in the trap of so many divorced parents where they worry about what their Ex and their Ex's family is able to provide materialistically. I am talking about all the stuff and the junk. Do not worry if others can provide more materialistically. After-all, no grown child reflects back on their lives and says, “I’m so happy that my parents left me and neglected me and gave me all that cool stuff to play with!” Those words have never come out of anyone’s mouth in the history of the world…ever.
You are enough. You have enough. Your presence is enough. Your love is enough. Not only are other people a gift of God for you, but you also are a gift of God for others.
God’s unconditional love can come from the hearts of people who live in the mansions of Beverly Hills just as equally as from the hearts of people who live in a 12 foot by 12 foot house in the slums of Mumbai, India.
I guess, what I am saying is that: you are enough! You have nothing deterring you from your task of sharing God’s love, mercy, forgiveness, and desire to seek justice for those who have been forgotten. Nothing can stop you from making this a great day.
Shake off your shoes,
Leave yesterday behind you
Shake off your shoes,
But forget not where you’ve been
Shake off your shoes,
Forgive and be forgiven
Take up your spade and break ground
- Sara Watkins
“Shake off your shoes” probably ranks up in the top ten of my favorite teachings from Jesus. Maybe it is even right there at number two behind “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' and "Love your neighbor as yourself.”
“Shake off the dust that is on your feet” is how our bible puts it. And, it refers to all those times that you come to someone’s aid or come to share some your love and they reject you. This rejection happened to Jesus also. There was the time when Jesus came to spread God’s love in his own hometown, and the people regarded him merely as "the carpenter" and “Mary’s son” and refused to see his holy goodness as either holy or good.
Did any of this rejection from those who he grew up with; from those who helped raise him; from those who you would expect to give him the greatest support but were instead his greatest critics; did any of that rejection stop him from starting out a new day fresh with God’s love?
No.
Yesterday is yesterday. If those people had a problem with receiving God’s love and healing, that is their issue. That was not Jesus’ issue.
Shake off your shoes. Do not let any of that negativity cling onto you and hitch a ride for the following days. Leave the dust of their rejection behind, forgive them of their shortcomings, and move on.
It is a new day after-all. There are other towns. There are other villages. There are other people who need the love and healing. There are other pages to be written in this story of God's. There are other fields that need to be tilled. Shake off your shoes and move on.
We are a people of forgiveness after-all. And, that forgiveness not only has the potential to transform those who have rejected or afflicted us in any way, it also gives us the freedom to just move on in life and till new fields without letting the past drag us down. Shake off your shoes.
Give thanks, for all that you’ve been given
Give thanks, for who you can become
Give thanks, for each moment and every crumb
Take up your spade and break ground
- Sarah Watkins
Give thanks because God has given you a new day! Give thanks because God has given you an eternal love! Give thanks because God has given you a purpose in life and you do not need to wander aimlessly. Give thanks because every moment, every breath, every act of love, every demon cast out, every recovery from darkness, every moment of forgiveness, and every good thing is a precious gift from God.
We give thanks because all of these things are the gifts from God that write the story of our day. These acts of holy love are the gifts from God that will fill the air with good stories shared long after you are gone. These are the things that matter. Give thanks for it all. God is good. The day we have been given is good. And, Christ is with us! What more could you ask for?
Christ is here, step out into your fields
Christ is here, you will not work alone
Christ is here, hold hope out for the harvest
Take up you spade and break ground
- Jira Albers
Yes, this is a new day in God’s world. Let’s go ahead and enjoy the lyrics of that great bluegrass song from Sara Watkins that envisions the possibilities for our days through the lens of gardening with a little gospel of Jesus Christ to guide the imagery.
By the way, that last verse was added by myself. I felt the need to “churchify” the song at one point in my life. It is not up to the standards of the original, but I shared it anyway because it preaches too. Enjoy the new day! It is God's new day!
Sun is up, a new day is before you
Sun is up, wake your sleepy soul
Sun is up, hold on to what is yours
Take up your spade and break ground
Shake off your shoes,
Leave yesterday behind you
Shake off your shoes,
But forget not where you’ve been
Shake off your shoes,
Forgive and be forgiven
Take up your spade and break ground
Give thanks, for all that you’ve been given
Give thanks, for who you can become
Give thanks, for each moment and every crumb
Take up your spade and break ground
[Christ is here, step out into your fields
Christ is here, you will not work alone
Christ is here, hold hope out for the harvest
Take up you spade and break ground]
"Take Up Your Spade" by Sara Watkins from the album: "Sun Midnight Sun"
Verse 4 by Jira Albers
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