Woman to Woman: Acknowledging the Thresholds of Our Days

Catching the toe of my shoe on the thick metal threshold strip on the step into the garage, reminds me I forgot the package I intended to drop off at the post office. My haste also cost me my mid-morning snack, which I failed to remember until much later. Instead of pausing at the threshold of a new day, I simply kicked into high gear without looking back.

Each day opens at a threshold where we choose how we will enter the moments before us. But it also offers many more thresholds throughout the day where we can choose how we enter various situations.

Each threshold invites a thoughtful pause contributing to good choices in how we spend our time, engage others, and remain attentive to God’s voice and leading for our days.

Many of us pause at the start of our days employing a quiet time of prayer and bible reading. Settling our thoughts and intentions and surrendering our day to God and the good works He foreordained for us.

Yet, I often forget the power of those first few moments before I step into my day.

For those threshold moments of decision, offer me the opportunity to choose how I enter my day. As God brings me word of His unfailing love each morning, yesterday’s mistakes whisper lessons, not rebuke.

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.

Psalm 143:8

Bathed in God’s new mercies, (Lamentations3:22-24) I choose what to bring with me from yesterday, and what to leave behind. In the narrow place at the start of a new day, I trust God’s vision for my day, as He illuminates the darkness within me and around me.

Mindful pauses at the threshold of each new day and subsequent transitional spaces throughout our days, incorporates rest, focus, and acceptance of God’s leading.

As you step across the threshold into a new day, prayerfully consider:

What lessons, changes, or emotions from yesterday shall I bring with me into this new day?

What events, encounters, or emotions must I release to move forward into this new day?

What areas pose the most struggle for me entering this new day?

As you step across the threshold into a new encounter with others or situation in your day, prayerfully consider:

Who do I want to be in this new encounter or situation?

What strengths am I bringing to this new encounter or situation?

How can I honor God in this new encounter or situation?

As you literally cross the threshold into your home at the end of the day, prayerfully consider:

What lessons, changes, or emotions from the day will I bring “home” with me?

What events, encounters, or emotions will I leave outside my door?

What joys, events, or encounters will I share with my family?

Praise God for three encounters, events, or areas of your day.

Facing each new day with intention prevents a rush into a personal agenda driven by anxiety or expectation. Mindfully embracing the reality of a threshold, invites both retrospection and wise anticipation, while surrendering all into the sovereign hands of a loving God.

In a brief pause of a few moments, we acknowledge our becoming as we pass from one physical space, encounter, or event to the next.

At the threshold of a new day, God awaits poised in love, gifting you with the new beginning of another day; but also, all the new beginnings held within the moments of your day. Will you pause and take His hand, or rush by blindly into the unknown?