Good News: Bathroom Remodel Complete!

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Yes! That’s what the email said: “The bathroom remodel is completed!”

I had begun my day with a routine visit to Our Daily Verse, a devotional that includes Scripture, praise music, prayers, and more elements that could fuel a lengthy time with the Lord. I must confess I often make it too brief, but even so, it’s always rich.

One recent morning (March 26), Our Daily Verse was:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).

Now, that’s good news – encouragement to recall these key principles from the Word of God. The vocal feature was “Ancient of Days,” a song new to me, but one I cannot seem to get enough of these last few days. More about this below.

After my devo, I soon turned to face the “real world,” to contend with the daily avalanche of emails, posts, press releases, and political brawling that remind me of all that’s wrong in the world.

The Bathroom

Surprise. On this particular morning, I opened my inbox, spotted a post from a good friend, and went to it first. It was good news indeed, a celebration that the “bathroom remodel is completed!” All who have survived a remodeling project while living in the home understand.

In this email, I also discovered that unnamed volunteers from my home church, Hope Church Tupelo, had joined others in remodeling a bathroom to make it fully functional for a young woman with Cerebral Palsy (cerebralpalsyguide.com). Statistics indicate that more than 10,000 babies are diagnosed with CP each year, and more than one million Americans live with CP.

Incidentally, March is National Cerebral Palsy Awareness month, and CP defines a demographic to whom Christ followers can easily be the hands and feet of Jesus. Knowing my fellow church members were on the scene, I know the gospel was there on that bathroom project.

The Bible

Surprise, surprise! That’s not all. Next came five-year-old Kori’s story – more good news via missionary David Smith’s email newsletter, which transported me from Tupelo to the Philippines.

After Kori heard Nard Pugyao, a Wycliffe Bible Translators (WBT) representative, speak at a church in Georgia, she approached him, lugging a heavy bag full of coins.

She told Pugyao that her grandfather’s Christmas gift had been a whole year’s collection of loose coins. The coins totaled $42, and Kori wanted to help Pugyao send Bibles to his own native land, the Isnag people group in the Philippines.

David Smith, a former co-worker here at AFA, his wife Melissa, and their seven children lived for almost a decade as WBT missionaries in Papua New Guinea.

The Blessing

Now, back to the March 26 devo that launched my good news day and this blog.

The worship hymn that morning, “Ancient of Days,” was written in 2018 and performed by worship team members of CityAlight, a ministry of St. Paul’s church in Sydney, Australia.

I had never heard it before, but its lyrics and music both overflow with the spirit and depth of an old gospel hymn. Its timely words reflect scriptural truths from Psalm 2 and Daniel 7. It’s worth your time to listen (As a caution, be aware that at least one other worship song of recent years bears the same title. It too has many lyrics rooted in Scripture.)

My newly discovered hymn opens with these lines, so appropriate for our troubled times:

Though the nations rage,

Kingdoms rise and fall,

There is still one King

Reigning over all.

The Ancient of Days moniker for God comes from prophecy in Daniel 7:9:

“I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat.”

I have listened to this “new” hymn many times these last few days. Its promise for eternity helps me rest more fully in the good news of God’s grace:

He is here with me,

I am not alone. O his love is sure,

And He knows my name,

For my God is the Ancient of Days.

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