"What a difference a day makes,
Twenty-four little hours
Brought the sun and the flowers
Where there used to be rain.
My yesterday was blue, dear.
Today I'm a part of you, dear.
My lonely nights are through, dear,
Since you said you were mine."
These are the opening lyrics to a song I grew up hearing Dinah Washington croon in my home. She was one of several jazz vocalists my mom loved and this song was a favorite of my mother's and later of mine. Of course, as a young girl and teen it was all about the romance of the song, this woman singing about her world going from sadness to joy overnight because the love of her life showed up. The song closes with the line, "What a difference a day made, and the difference was you." This fit in perfectly with my handsome prince, knight in shining armor, holding out for a hero view of romantic love that filled my teenage mind. As I grew older, I still loved the song, but I knew from experience that not every romantic relationship would end in sun and flowers. I'd had my heart broken and been disappointed a few times as much by my own bad choices as by the men I dated. My perspective of the song had changed to recognize that real love from the right man was going to feel life altering and be huge not because it would look like a scene in a movie, but because it would be lasting, it would be a love I could count on, a love that included commitment.
When I married my husband the song took on greater meaning still. In him, I found not just a knight in shining armor, but a true partner for life. I had experienced the loneliness of single life having not married until I was thirty-five and had a greater appreciation for the fact that I now had someone standing by my side through everything I might face in life. The magnitude of that steadfast companionship was monumental. Here was someone with whom I could make big life decisions, someone with whom I could share my dreams, someone to hold me in times of sorrow, and someone to laugh with me in times of great joy. My lonely nights truly were through. Now, we didn't get to this place of partnership overnight, but because we honored God in our relationship we truly did have the overnight impact that came with our wedding day. We went from separate households, bank accounts, and beds (yes, I said beds) to one literally overnight. What a difference a day made.
This summer, I became a mother and yet again, that old jazz song has taken on new meaning. To wake up one morning anticipating your child and go to bed that night holding her in your arms is a surreal experience that I can't quite articulate. I can only say, this song came into my mind that night as I held my daughter in my arms. Once again, my whole world had changed in just a day. Our priorities shifted completely as my husband and I feel the joyous weight of responsibility for this precious little life. Things that mattered the day before, no longer seem important and things we'd never thought about are suddenly at the top of our list. The emptiness that had staked out a corner of my heart belonging to motherhood was suddenly full and like the song goes on to say, I was experiencing a "moment of bliss". What a difference a day made.
As I kept singing the song in my mind, I realized that these two days that had made such a difference in my life were only possible because of the most important day that ever occurred in my life. That providential day in June of 1999 when I stepped into a church for the first time in a long time and gave my life to Christ. On that day, when I recognized that I was a sinner and was completely failing by trying to do things my way, when I surrendered it all to God, when I received the incredible grace that only Jesus offers I cleared a path for God to bless me in incredible ways. I was my own roadblock to true joy before because I had not taken what had been offered to me my whole life, but once I got out of my own way and yielded to God, I gave Him the control that only He truly has anyway. He began, that day, to steer me on the path that I walk today. Had I not experienced that day, I could never have experienced these other two magnificent days, and I would still be on the "blue"side of things. What a difference a day made, Lord and truly the difference was You!
