Sunday, April 21, 2019

for today

 There are times when we get so involved with what is going on around us we forget to pay attention to ourselves. At other times we just get self involved. I'm thinking I may have become more self involved than I should be. Maybe that is why all the writing and explaining. I'm certainly aware of what is going on around me and I am concerned.Things is, I'm concerned about a time when I most likely won't be here at all. Do we need to worry about the future? My grandmother would say, don't worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will take care of itself. I wasn't aware that was a Bible verse until many years later. I wonder if Grandmother knew that? Grandmother Bennett was from Sweden and was raised there. Did they use the King James version of the Bible?
 I expect they did. In that translation/interpretation of the Bible it says, " take therefor no thought for the morrow, the morrow shall take thought for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. " It is advice I unconsciously follow, most of the time. Well at least the not worrying about tomorrow part, sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof part, I'm not so certain about. I do seem concerned ( worried ) more about the future than the day. Is that because my days are getting fewer? You do have to be aware of the changing odds as the years past. But that is what " sufficient unto the day the evil thereof ' is all about. There are more than enough problems, temptations, and distractions enough to deal with today to worry about what may happen tomorrow. When Grandma Bennett told me to not worry about tomorrow what she was really saying was, take care of today! First things first. Common sense isn't it?
 For that reason, we should ask ourselves, what can I do for today? Not necessarily what can I do for me, or for someone else, but for the day. All things are built a piece at a time, our lives are no different. One day at a time is a precept spread by Alcoholics Anonymous and other groups. It is basically the same thing as that Bible verse, just paraphrased. AA even says, God, whatever you conceive him to be, is the force that will help you. That's a very brief synopsis but I think a valid one. Sufficient unto the day is not to take that drink, that's what you can do for the day. And that is what we should all be doing for the day, resisting temptation. By doing so we set the example. Tomorrow will become what we allow today! What we allow today becomes accepted tomorrow, and the norm after that.
 We often ask one another, what are you going to do today. What we should be asking is, what are you going to do for the day. Each day does present opportunity, if we recognize it. It may as simple as a kind word or a simple gesture. Doing such may be what you do for the day. Not reacting to an injustice directed at you may also be what you can do for the day. Keeping the peace is a contribution. Sometimes doing nothing at all, is what you can do for the day. The day is much larger than ourselves. Each day is a gift, an indulgence by a loving God. There is a force much greater than man that can snuff out the earth in a moments notice. We are helpless against that force. Perhaps you call it nature, doesn't matter, fact is, it is more powerful than man. I believe it is God, the creator of the universe. What are you going to do for the day? I hope whatever it is it is pleasing to that God. You know, when God decides he is no longer pleased with the day, he will end it!
 On this day especially we should be reminded we were given a second chance. Surely God couldn't have been pleased when his son was crucified. But he didn't end the day, he rolled back the stone, and gave us all another chance. What are you going to do for the day? Are you going to give it another chance? 

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