Not Yesterday, Not Tomorrow, But Today

What day is it?  We ask that of each other: meaning Monday, Tuesday…  Finish the sentence:  “What day is it TODAY?”  After all, isn’t that what we have?  The here and now?  We may try to cling to yesterday, to hang on for dear life, but it’s gone.  We can try to keep it alive in our memories.  We can replay it in our minds and hearts.  But, we can’t bring it back.  For some with frustrating or sad pasts, this may be a relief.  Yet, most of us have aspects – or loved ones – we’d like back.  But, time doesn’t work like a videotape you can back up and start over.

On the other side of the spectrum there is tomorrow, which has not yet come.  And, it may not.  We talk about tomorrow:  what we’ll do, where we’ll go, what we’ll accomplish.  But, it’s not here.

Today, on the other hand, is happening right now.  We live one second at a time, one breath at a time.  Think of it this way:  each day is like a whole pie.  Beautiful and fresh, waiting to be devoured.  Suppose we cut the pie into 6 serving slices.  Two of those pieces we’re sleeping (hopefully).  What do you do with the other four?  That’s an individual choice.  Sometimes the Lord leads us to do something and it’s best to follow that lead.  What if you can’t get out anywhere or you don’t feel well?  I had a friend a number of years ago who was dying, and she knew it.  She was asked if she got down or angry.  Her answer?  She allowed herself ONE MINUTE a day for such things and then she moved on, claiming “life was too short” to waste much time on that.  Do you want to live the life you’ve been given?  That starts now.  Today.

At the end of the day, did anyone enjoy those four pieces of your pie?  Did you enjoy any of it?  Did you even ask what you might do to make a difference in anyone else’s life?

What if circumstances aren’t what we’d like?  We want things to be different.  Granted, there are times in our lives that are tough and we struggle through them.  Maybe friends help to see us through – by sharing some of their “pie” with us.  Yet, how much of the time are we just grumbling because things may not be going our way?  If all we have is today, why waste it on the negative?   Gratitude turns what we have into enough.  Tomorrow is when today becomes yesterday and that means it, too, will be gone.  We can’t change the past, and we can’t control the future.  The moments we have today are precious.  So, let’s make each one count by focusing outward and by being grateful.

“Yet, you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow…”     (James 4:14)