Today is an extraordinary day, a day unlike any other! In all the history of the world, there has not been one like it. Nor have there ever been such extraordinary people alive as there are at this moment. I am talking about the here and now, about you and me.
The problem with such an outrageous claim is that, from what I can tell, today is perfectly ordinary. Even the smoke filling these East Coast skies from Canadian wildfires seems ordinary. I suspect you feel the same way. Same old, same old.
A reflection by Danny Schweers for July 26, 2026.
This being an ordinary day, I managed to get out of bed (always a good sign), took care of email, checked my calendar, and planned my day. With a cup of cold coffee nearby, I am now writing another reflection for my church, trying to say something that not only catches your attention — so valuable in today’s cyber-economy! — but say something worthy of your attention, that every day is extraordinary.
The extraordinary looks mundane, at least at first.
One piece of advice I give my photography students is this: if they cannot find something interesting to photograph, just wait patiently and pay attention. The universe is shy. It hides. Secretly, it is eager to show itself. Be patient and welcoming and soon the world will show itself to be the extraordinary place it is.
The same is true for our lives. A little patience and an open mind is usually all it takes for the world to open itself before our eyes. If we pay attention, possibilities by the score appear, some of them so extravagant that it would take entire civilizations many centuries to pursue them, even you and me. Our possibilities are endless. Our cups runneth over. It is enough to make us shy and want to hide, the prospects are so intimidating. We like to think of ourselves as ordinary people. Extravagant opportunities may not feel like a blessing. The extraordinary often scares us.
Suddenly, my prayer list is long.
At the moment, an unusual number of people I know are facing extraordinary challenges. I have been paying attention. They and their family and friends are understandably scared.
- My sister recently had brain surgery, a bowel resection, and two courses of radiation treatment, but family (even I) and friends and trained physicians are caring for her.
- My neighbor’s wife has a bad cancer as well, but her husband, who cries telling me the story, cares for her. There are others, too, caring for her.
- One of my Saturday lunch buddies is home now from the hospital, in a homecare bed downstairs, too weak to climb the stairs. He has a diligent, caring wife and is surrounded by care from others.
- Across the street, my neighbor recovers from foot surgery, likewise trapped downstairs, but she, too, has family, friends, and professional caregivers aplenty.
- Old friends and acquaintances struggle with heart fibrillation, faulty heart valves, lower back surgery, ALS, dementia, physical debilitation, broken femurs, and broken homes. But they, too, all of them, are surrounded by love. Extraordinary!
Because I am just an ordinary person, easily overwhelmed by the extraordinary, I turn to prayer.
I pray because there is little else I can do. I pray because it allows me to listen without being depressed, without me focusing only on my failure and the failure of others to fix the situation. I can focus on the possibility of hope. My job is not to fix the world but to pay attention to it and, if possible, imagine possibilities for redemption. I can give thanks for the love and care people find, and sometimes I can give love myself. I can pray for God’s kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.
Yes, my prayer list is long. I have been paying attention. Every day is extraordinary. My prayer is that none of us gets so absorbed in the details of our many tasks that we fail to recognize the amazing world in which we find ourselves, that we find and recognize God’s bountiful grace every day.
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Photo of people cavorting in fire-hydrant spray at the July 4th Games in Arden, Delaware. Reflection 2026-11. Photo copyright 2017; text, 2026 by Danny Nelson Schweers.
Danny chairs SsAM’s Communication Committee. He is an active photographer and writer. Click here to visit Danny’s website and make a comment.
