tomorrow

Good Words from Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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“Do not worry! Earthly goods deceive the human heart into believing that they give it security and freedom from worry. But in truth, they are what cause anxiety. The heart which clings to goods receives with them the choking burden of worry. Worry collects treasures, and treasures produce more worries. We desire to secure our lives with earthly goods; we want our worrying to make us worry-free, but the truth is the opposite. The chains which bind us to earthly goods, the clutches which hold the goods tight, are themselves worries.

Abuse of earthly goods consists of using them as a security for the next day. Worry is always directed toward tomorrow. But the goods are intended only for today in the strictest sense. It is our securing things for tomorrow which makes us so insecure today. It is enough that each day should have its own troubles. Only those who put tomorrow completely into God’s hand and receive fully today what they need for their lives are really secure. Receiving daily liberates me from tomorrow” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).

That reminds me of something Jesus taught His disciples to pray. It was something about God giving us each day our daily bread. Something like that.

Of course, I jest a bit. We are told to ask daily for daily bread. Just like the manna in the desert for the children of God, we can’t stockpile or horde our daily bread. We only get enough for today. Tomorrow will take care of itself.

Worry doubts tomorrow’s provision. Worry doubts the heart of God. Worry forgets about all the days up to this one where God provided. But faith trusts not in the daily bread but in the Bread of Life.

Lord, give me today exactly what I need for today. Help me to trust you in the present and leave tomorrow’s troubles until tomorrow. Help me remember that you are already there and have already made provisions for me there. Amen.

On the Eve of 9/11

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Fifteen years ago tonight, just under 3,000 people went to bed for the last time. None of them could have known that the next morning, two planes would crash into the World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon building, bringing their lives abruptly to an end.

None of them had an inkling that they were kissing their spouses and children for the last time. Most of them had dreams and plans far beyond that fateful Tuesday, plans that didn’t include having terrorist fly planes into the buildings where they worked.

I can’t believe it’s been 15 years. It blows my mind to think that the high school freshman will learn about 9/11 as history because none of them were alive when it occurred. Suddenly, I feel old.

I remember it vividly. I can still recall the details of being called into my boss’ office and both of us wondering what in the world was happening until the second plane hit the building.

I hope that each of those who remember that day will never forget what happened.

More importantly, I hope each of us will never forget to tell those close to us whom we love every day at every opportunity how much they mean to us and how much we love them.

I hope each of us will not put off until tomorrow what is in our power to do today– whether that’s chasing a dream of ours or helping others find their own destinies.

I hope we will choose to forgive those who hurt us and release them from the expectation that they can fix our brokenness (when only God can do that).

I hope we will be people who love boldly and extend grace boldly and evangelize boldly.

I hope we will live this and every day after like it was our last day on earth, knowing that tomorrow is not promised but that all our times are in the hands of God.

 

Looking for the Pause Button

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Sometimes, I wish life had a remote control, like in that Adam Sandler movie where he fast-forwards through the boring parts of his life.

Only I wouldn’t be looking for the fast-forward button. I’d want to pause my life.

Today, I went to the funeral of a friend’s dad. I hadn’t seen or talked to him in a long time, but I remember him as being a quiet, gentle man who loved his God and his family and who also happened to own the first PC that I had ever seen.

I saw him lying in the coffin, looking like a perfect wax replica of a person. Then I remembered that I was looking not at the man, but at the shell. The moment he breathed his last he was instantly in the presence of Jesus, fully alive and healthy and happy.

I heard where two Briarcrest students who were set to embark on their senior year of high school died Friday at the hands of a drunk driver who had four DUIs in the last five years.

There’s too much sadness and loss in the world. Too many people had to say goodbye to the ones they loved, while more than that never got the chance.

I sense more than ever how precious and fleeting this life is. I understand more how important it is never to take anyone in your life for granted.

I’m thinking about the quote from the movie The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel– “There’s no present like the time.”

I recall a pastor who said that at best this life is like a clean bus station. You don’t set up a bedroom suite and move all your belongings into a Greyhound terminal, because it’s only a stop along the way toward your final destination.

This life is so brief because this is not our final destination. Heaven is. As much as I keep forgetting, as much as I want that pause button to work, I know that I can’t stop that second hand from racing clockwise toward another tomorrow.

I can only choose to live each moment fully and to be fully present to every person in every place at every moment that I’m given. I can know that in God’s economy nothing is ever wasted and the good a person does follows after them. Your legacy will far outlive you and in the end, it won’t be what you did for a living or who you knew, but who you were and what you did with what God gave you.

 

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Epiphany

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“There’s no present like the time” (a great line from The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel).

My life hasn’t gone the way I planned. In fact, for most of my life there really hasn’t been a plan. My first job when I moved to the Nashville area fell into my lap in a stroke of providence and blessing.

I can say that while I haven’t always gotten what I wanted, I find I always got what I needed just when I needed it.

Tonight, I saw the Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, the sequel to . . . you can probably figure out the title to the first movie. It was just as good and clever as the first.

I remember when I heard the line that I quoted, my brain wanted to reverse it and have it say, “There’s no time like the present.” That’s how I’ve always heard it and that’s what I hear when people are wanting you to act NOW and buy NOW and decide NOW.

But truly, there is no better present than the time you’re given. There’s no better present than the present. You only get one today and never a do-over on yesterday (unless you happen to live inside the movie Groundhog Day).

So take it all in. Be sure to pay attention. For me, it means noticing the beautiful cloud formations in the sky on the way to work and actually paying attention to the scenery on the drive. It means stopping for a moment to breathe a prayer along the lines of “Thank You, God, for this life, and forgive me if I don’t love it enough.”

I’m still learning never to take anything (or anyone) for granted. I hope I wake up tomorrow, but I can’t guarantee that I will because it’s not promised. The same goes for all my family and friends. Even my cat Lucy.

Savor your life while you live it. Don’t waste your time during the week pining away after the weekends and holidays and summer vacations. Each day is a gift that is good for only 24 hours and has a no-return policy. Open it.

 

Snow! Snow! Snow!

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snow

It really won’t be long before we’ll all be there with snow. Or in this case, a wintry mix of freezing rain, sleet and a bit o’ snow thrown in for good measure.

Snow is safer to drive in. Ice? Not so much. Especially when you have a rear-wheel drive as I do. But it’s pretty to look at.

I stayed home all day. I used the excuse of snow to catch up on my movies, starting off with a Peter Sellers movie, The Revenge of the Pink Panther, and ending with an old Hitchcock favorite, Spellbound.

Tomorrow’s forecast looks to be more of the same, since the temperature will most likely be dropping and all that slushy mix will only freeze over and become more treacherous to drive in. And according to the most reliable weather source available, my smart phone, the temperature is supposed to drop to -8 at some point between Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. Brrr.

I won’t have to set my alarm for some ridiculous pre-dawn hour. That’s always a plus.

I’m sure by the time it’s all over, I’ll have a case of cabin fever and will be willing to even set that blasted alarm clock if it means me getting out of the house.

But one thing I’ve learned is to make the best of wherever God has you and learn to see the good in every situation. That means counting blessings and finding joy in hidden places. Even in the middle of Winter (the arrival of actual snowy, icy weather as opposed to the general season of winter running from December to March).

So here’s to being inside when it’s cold outside. Too many people don’t have warm places to stay when it gets frigid outside. I don’t ever want to take for granted what so many go without. So thank you God for a warm house and a warm bed and a warm cat.

 

 

Till the Season Comes Round Again

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“May the new year be blessed with good tidings
’til the next time I see you again
And we’ll all join hands and remember this moment
And we’ll love and we’ll laugh in the time that we have
’til the season comes ’round again
’til the season comes ’round again” (Randy Goodrum/John Barlow Jarvis).

I got a bit nostalgic this Christmas. Not in a sad or morbid way. I just had the thought that it will never again be like it was this Christmas. My niece won’t ever be three years old again. My nephews will soon enough be teenagers and not nearly as excited about Christmas and presents.

In fact, there will never be another day like today ever again. There will certainly be more good days, even possibly some great ones that you will spend the rest of your life remembering fondly. But none like this day.

That’s why it’s important to make this one count. There’s a saying from a TV show I saw recently that I like a lot. It says, “One today is worth two tomorrows.”

That means don’t be so concerned about the future that you forget to live in the present. Don’t get so caught up in the past that you forget to be in the now. Take the chances you’re afraid to take. Do the thing you’ve been putting off.

Tell the ones you love that you love them. Don’t ever for a moment think that you’ll always have a tomorrow to tell them. Tomorrow’s never promised and the present is a gift.

I may be descending into cliches, but they’re true. I wish I could go back and say the words “I love you” to some of my relatives that aren’t around anymore. I wish I could sit down with each of them one more time for one last conversation.

Maybe I can do that with the ones who are in my life right now while I still can. I think I’ll do that.

The Last Christmas

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I had an unusual question pop into my head today. It’s not something I think about too much and I tend not to be morbid, but I thought I’d pose this question anyway: if you knew this was the last Christmas you’d spend with someone, what gift would you buy him or her?

Again, I don’t mean to be morbid, but I’ve thought about this a bit.

Maybe the best last gift you’d ever buy someone is the gift of you. More specifically, I mean you taking your time and spending it with that person. Taking about what they want to talk about. Going through old photo albums.

It doesn’t have to be your 88-year old grandmother. It could be anyone. After all, no one is guaranteed a tomorrow, much less a next Christmas.

So who would it be? And what would it be?

Maybe that’s what you should get that person for Christmas. In case you’re stuck for what to buy him or her.

 

Making Today Count

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I saw an interesting movie tonight called The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, about a man who is born old and ages backwards.

His life intersects with many others as they grow older and he grows younger. He never knows when or if he will see any of them again, so he chooses to make the most of the moments he spends with them.

I may not be growing younger, but I know that I’m not promised a tomorrow. Neither are you. No one is.

The goal is to live every day as if it were your last and savor every moment as if it would not come again. Because there will never again be a moment exactly like this one.

This may be me repeating myself yet again, but I don’t care. Love the people in your life and never take them for granted because you don’t know if you’ll see them tomorrow. Never let an opportunity go by to let the people you love know how much you love them. Don’t assume they know. Tell them.

One day, the degrees you’ve earned won’t matter. The promotions won’t matter. The bank accounts and the big fancy houses and luxury cars won’t matter. Those lives who you’ve touched, who’ve touched your life, will matter.

So live that way now.

Happy Birthday Eve to Me!

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Everyone knows about Christmas Eve. Apparently, Thursdays are now being referred to as Friday Eve. So why can’t the day before my birthday be birthday eve?

Birthdays are always a good time to reflect and look back. Sure, I’m not where I thought I’d be at this point, but I am alive. I survived another year. I woke up this morning. That has to count for something.

The fact that you and I are here means that God isn’t through with us just yet. He still has a purpose for you and me.

I believe God has already told us what our purpose is: for Him to shape us into the spitting image of Jesus. I also think that we do that when we savor life and relationships and moments. We do that when we show gratitude in everything and find joy everywhere.

Jesus lived life to the utmost and has called us to do the same. Through His power, we can. I’m not saying all our days will be perfect and sunny and bright, but even on the darkest of days there will still be joy to be found and a multitude of reasons to give thanks.

So I’m happy to be here and thankful for another day of life. And if I wake up tomorrow, I’ll celebrate another year of being alive and loved and blessed.