Seven Times a Day
“Seven times a day I praise you forever your righteous ordinances.”
Psalm 119:164
In the early 1980s, my family and I were living in Connecticut. It is a beautiful state and that beauty changes with the seasons. The trees go from snow-covered in winter to fresh new buds in spring, to the shades of green in summer and to bold fall colors to end the cycle. There was one particular tree that I noticed most days as I drove children to school. It was in front of the Saugatuck Congregational Church, which in itself is a very handsome white wooden New England building that acted as an impressive backdrop for my tree.
There was a traffic light outside the church and I would actually look forward to being stopped at it. It was then that I had time to stop and appreciate the beauty and presence of the scene. They were a gift from God, and I would offer praise and thanks. I couldn’t help myself. I had to give thanks for God’s creation. It reminded me that God was present in that place and my day was brightened.
The psalmist invites us to praise God seven times each day. Sometimes I need help to remember, but my life gets so much better when I offer a prayer wherever I am. It does not need to be a long, complicated, religiously-correct prayer, just a short sentence. Pray the words that you feel in that moment; they come from God: thank you, please help me, I am lost, I am sorry, I love you--simple words that, when multiplied by seven, add up to God on your mind, all day, as you go about your everyday tasks.
