TODAY

I think the scriptures do to a point convey the idea of the importance of today. That is from my view in terms of the need to live it to the fullest and take it for granted.

It doesn't mean that planning is a bad thing. But if one gets so consumed with planning and never truly appreciates a given day then I think some aspect is lost in the process.

If we never stop to reflect on a day and remember it is a gift from the Lord how easy we can get trapped in the vicious cycle of only dwelling on the details that don't matter or are less significant. How easy it is for that to happen.

On a different level you can also find yourself struggle with allowing Sunday to be just Sunday. God doesn't just dwell in the church. He is there, wherever we are. And he cares just as much about what we do the rest of the week as we do on Sunday.

I've gotten in this habit for myself of being sure I try to start out each day surrendering it to the Lord. I may lift up to him long term problems, but at the same, I ask for his guidance for that day.

Does that mean I spent the whole day being spiritual and only thinking lofty thoughts? Not even close. I get trapped just as much as the next person captured by the routine.

But there are the moments when I can stop in the midst of all the distraction and demands of the routine and lift up my eyes to try and remember God is still in charge. That can be a rather nebulous concept at times when you consider all the chaos in the world, but the reality is to me that it means that he is still God. Basically that he grants us the freedom to make our choices good or bad, but it doesn't mean in any way he is less capable of controlling what happens.

Stopping to remind myself of that and to try and ask the basic question about what it is that my Lord desires from me in a given situation is easy to forget. But I am grateful for when the Lord does tap me on the shoulder and grant me that memory.

Again, what happens today in that regard doesn't necessarily mean it will be the same tomorrow. I always marvel at the times when people manage that silly notion of always chasing rainbows of solutions.

One of my friends does that a lot. The person's desires are well-intentioned, but if I took this person's opinion on everything, the perfect answer to any problem would take place and change almost every hour. I don't think that is the way the Lord works.

And from what I've witnessed a lot of people are inclined to operate on the same level of thought in terms of today. For the follower of Christ we do have the blessings of hope that despite today and its pressures, tomorrow may come with different choices. It can allow us to smile just keeping today in the perspective it is suppose to have. Sometimes I actually manage to embrace it as more than a thought.