Today is a Gift
But it needs to be received right now.
A friend of mine recently had two brushes with death due to cancer. The first one drove him into panic and despair. The second he handled differently.
While processing the dramatic changes he was about to face following his first diagnosis, he spoke with an older friend. He politely listened to his long list of concerns. What should he do if this or that or the other happens?
His friend, finally had heard enough.
“Well, today you will either die, or you won’t. There’s nothing you can do about that, so why don’t you decide to enjoy today?
How often do we miss this moment right now because we are somewhere else — either pining over the regrets or fearing tomorrow?
Fear lives in the future; guilt in the past.
Sure you can push back and ask why then are you fearful right now?
Could it be that you have forgotten fear is a feeling and not a description of your personhood?
The same goes for regrets, guilt, and shame.
As these apparitions grow in someone’s mind and heart they are pressured to accept the lie that this is just who they are. They will always regret their failures and fear their futures. “That’s just the way I am,” seems the logical conclusion. This, however, is a lie.
Your fears right now are about what might happen, and this robs you from living with even a little more happiness or gratitude in this moment right now.
So, for this moment right now, stop. Focus. Breath. Think.
In this moment, and this moment only, can you step away from worry.
Right now you can smell fresh air or the subtle scent of a flower or baked bread.
Right where you are you can choose to be grateful for your heart and lungs, your hands and feet, your eyes and ears, and the fact that you are loved and have the ability to love others.
You can list your blessings to include those things and people who get on your nerves but who also improve your ability to love, even when it is challenging.
Prayer can only work in this moment. You can’t pray yesterday or tomorrow, only today, right now. This means you can only hear God as you understand him right now.
No guarantees you have a tomorrow or what it will bring, but if you are living well right now, this can be enough.
Let God handle your future.
He has taken care of you up to now whether you have realized it or not.
It’s what he does because he loves you.
The Still Point is life as it exists apart from the past and the future. It is here and now, in quiet rest, apart from all the demands you believe there are on your life.
Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Thanks for this insight, Ben. Very excellent truth!