If we could turn back time, most of us probably wouldn’t. As much as I loved the sweet times of life when my children were young, I still wouldn’t want a do-over – even though it’s my great keepsake.
In any stage of life there will always be things we wish we’d have done differently and that’s where most of us are in the beginning of a new year – hoping for a fresh start.
Well, we get one of those with each new day. It doesn’t come with the turn of a calendar page where we set lofty goals that fail by sundown ~ God’s mercies are new every day and His grace is sufficient for this day.
As I read over the first few pages of my journal from last year, I noticed it started out much the same as the one unwritten . . . many recorded joys and sorrows from the year before. It’s what makes up life. And I’ve lived it long – every crevice in my face is a wise-line, well earned. Yet I wonder how I got to today so quickly – closer to the finish line. But, no matter how old we are, this is true for all of us.
So what will we do with this new collection of unknown days ahead?
After today we will have 354 days left to finish well so as not to come to December’s end and wonder where it all went (again). If our days are merely striving to fulfill a checklist we’ll simply spin wheels for the next 24/7 until we come to this place next year.
I understand, there are times when we get discouraged and feel like we’re heading nowhere in particular – just going through the motions. So, it’s good to keep in mind that we actually get to use about two-thirds of our 24 hours, and then we sleep – but if we wake up just to snore through the day we’ll wind up in tomorrow.
We can’t sit in the middle of the road waiting for tomorrow while it’s still today (my Irish grandmother quoted. . . everything).
Time passes swiftly – but if we glean the gold engraved into each new day, we will find a deeper place in life. And don’t we want to find what time should bring out while we’re becoming who we’re becoming?
We have the gift of today no matter how difficult the path appears – no matter how badly we’ve messed up. This is the day of our fresh start, not January 1st.
Today is the day we can make the right choice – ask someone’s forgiveness – tell someone they’re loved – contact the ones who’ve mattered most in our life. We get to do that today . . .
Gratefully, this is not just a journey – there is a destination. And may it lead to the sweet place of Jesus where all things are made new. Seize the change, girls.
God’s mercies are new every morning . . . Lamentations 3:23
Verna
Well said…and received dear friend! I am still learning to take one day at a time and intentionally make iit my best. The old cliche and song, “Yesterday’s gone and tomorrow may never come”, is a reminder…”We have this moment today”. So thankful for our journey that ends up with heaven as our final destination. And as my dear grandmother used to say: “Heaven is our home, and earth is our dressing room.” God gives us a lifetime to learn to love Him first and then others as ourselves. A tall order, but not without the empowerment of the indwelling Spirit who makes it possible. I’m still forgetting the past and reaching forward to the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. And so grateful for the wisdom of parents and grandparents who spoke into our lives through their words and actions.
Have a blessed day riding on the wings of His promise of new mercies every morning!