It started as an exciting day.

At 9:30 in the morning, we made a rash decision to take a road trip, and by 10:00 we were in the car. Twenty minutes later, down the road, we finally figured out where we were going. Salado, we decided. A small town, south of Waco, Texas, known for it’s little shops, art galleries, and B&B’s; a place to which we’d never been.

After a pleasant drive, we arrived, had a nice lunch, and start talking about the day. A small, off-the-cuff comment was made which threatened to change the tone ever-so-slightly, but we moved past it, determined to have a nice day. When we stepped back outside, however, it was a 173 degrees, which made the enjoying of the area a little more challenging. But we persevered. We scored on an outdoor table and chairs for which we’ve been looking for some time, and worked and worked to get it in the car. We succeeded, but were so hot and gross that we had a hard time cooling down and enjoying anything else.

Sitting in the car with the air blasting, we decided to find a place to stay for the night and regroup. But, due to our spontaneity, we found out the hard way that there was not a single room to be had in town. We talked about driving to another town, but we’d kind of lost our enthusiasm by that point. We’d also bailed on something important that needed to be done at home, and, feeling a little guilty about it, decided to just head back.

We pulled into the drive just as the sun was setting, and in those few moments, discussing the mail we’d just gotten from the box, we got into an argument.

Right after a disappointing day of fun-gone-wrong.

Right before bed.

And nobody slept.

Sometimes you plan a day to the hilt and it goes wrong. And sometimes you try to be romantic and spontaneous and it goes wrong. The fact of the matter is there are just stinky days in this life, no matter what you do. Life is not perfect. We are not perfect.

But as I sit here typing, a rosy glow is coming up over the tree line. God’s promise of a new day…a new opportunity to be thankful, and speak the words that should’ve been spoken last night.

A do-over.

Grace.

“Yet there is one ray of hope: his compassion never ends. It is only the Lord’s mercies that have kept us from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his loving-kindness begins afresh each day.” Lamentations 3:21-23 TLB

“‘In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” Ephesians 4:26 NIV

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16 NLT