One Day at a Time

I used to watch this show when I was younger -- in fact, the theme song is running amok in my head as we speak.  (Well, as I type.) The adage itself was not something with which I was familiar at the time.  I lived EVERY day one day at a time, without even having to think about it back then.  The future, to me, was a nebulous, nearly non-existent notion.  I spent my time in the very moment: running through a sprinkler in my underwear and a little flowered t-shirt, building sandcastles on the beach, splashing through puddles in the driveway (perhaps there is something to the zodiac, huh?  I am a Pisces and have quite the affinity for water, it seems...)  My days began when I felt like waking up, and my evenings ended when I was too tired to keep my little eyelids propped open any longer.  I might not have realized it then, but THAT was living.

Now, I drag myself out of bed when my alarm goes off, and the first thought that runs through my head is inevitably, "Can I sleep ten more minutes?"  I do all of the things that I 'have' to do, pushing aside the things that I 'want' to do.  It's a rare occasion when I have time to turn on the sprinkler to water the mostly-yellow lawn, much less run through it, thereby ruining my clothes for the rest of the day, and the cell phone that's in my pocket.  It takes me an hour and a half to get to any beach, and I get annoyed when it rains because it makes my commute take longer.  What happened to the happy-go-lucky spirit that once lived inside?  It's too busy worrying about the mistakes I've made in the past, the obligations I have in the present, and the unforeseen problems that might occur in the future to take the time to just

...

b
r
e
a
t
h
e

...

Jesus was a lot of things, and one of the things is something that doesn't really occur to us very often.  He was a fun-loving guy.  He took great pleasure in his friends, in going to gatherings (also known as "parties"), in talking with a myriad of people.  Don't get me wrong, He was here on business, too.  But one of the things He said makes me smile. 

"Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, about what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?"  --Matthew 6:25 

I'm pretty certain He wasn't saying we should starve and go naked, but He had his priorities MUCH straighter than we do these days.  God was first and foremost -- after that, it was THE MOMENT He was in.  Every moment was a new experience: healing, teaching, being a rebel, storytelling, turning water into wine, eating, traveling, fishing.  He was a man of action.  A 'verb' man, if you will.  He's always doing something.  And you might also notice something else: people were drawn to Him!  They wanted to be where He was, listen to what He had to say, follow Him wherever He went.

Some other words of wisdom: 

"Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own."  Matthew 6:34.  Ain't THAT the truth?  Why should I get so bogged down about what tomorrow might bring, when I should be living in the moment I have right now?

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these." - Matthew 19:14  Think of not just the innocence of little children, but their willingness.  Willingness to go where you go, to follow you, to spend time together, to try new things, to do anything and everything as long as the two of you are together.  To dive right in and relish the moment, any moment, every moment.

I have to wonder -- if our priorities were straight, would more people be interested in living such a life?  If we didn't focus constantly on our jobs, our problems, our cars, our issues, our past, our savings, our debts... if we focused, instead, on OTHERS in the moment, any moment, every moment -- what a difference that might make.  Not just in our lives, but in theirs.

Isn't that what we're here for in the first place?

Stephanie Jean