"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:34. "You never know where life is going to take you. So everything I do; I just take it one day at a time, and it always leads you to the right place." Kyle Massey. "The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time." Abraham Lincoln.
Have you ever been curious about what will happen to you in the future? I mean to the point where you have gone to a reader or a "so called psychic?" Don't laugh, there are many of them in business and they are doing very well. I am going to "burst your bubble." Stop wasting your money, No one has the power to give you "blow by blow" details of what is going to happen in your life. Why would you need to trust God if man were able to do this? Not only that, but you would drive yourself mad if you knew in advance the whole portrait of your life. How about taking it one day at a time? I think that is what we can manage. "Many people spend a lot of time thinking about the past or the future--a thinking process called ruminating. If you consistently make it a habit, it becomes a loop --and prevents you from living in the moment." Thomas Oppong.
"On day at a time sweet Jesus, That's all I'm asking of you, Just give me the strength to do everyday what I have to do. Yesterday's gone sweet Jesus, And tomorrow may never be mine, Lord help me today; show me the way, one day at a time.........Show me the stairway I have to climb. Lord for my sake, teach me to take one day at a time." Lynda Randie. Song writers: Marijorn Wilkin/Kristoffer Kristofferson. This is what I am asking for. It seems simplistic and easy to accomplish. Not so. Well, I should speak for myself. Past, present and future have taken residence in my head. I struggle to carefully extricate myself from the past and not to spend too much time pondering the future. If I am to be honest, and I must be, being/living/planning in the present is not as easy as I thought. In fact, living each moment to the fullest is very difficult. At least for me. It requires focus/concentration/awareness/persistence/intention/purpose, etc., etc. All this while not letting the past or future cloud my actions or vision.
As I have stated numerous times, I have some issues with procrastination. I am getting better, but not quickly enough. I digress. I am in the process of completing my second novel; a project I started a while ago ( I am going to show myself grace by not sharing how long ago). As I was contemplating how long I was going to give myself to complete this project, it came to me that I am putting undue pressure on myself; I can simply deal with this one day at a time. I know you must be thinking, "that's obvious." Yes, to you. It may even be obvious to me, but making it happen is not. Logically, literally I understand why, "one day at a time"is the way to go, but the "how" continues to elude me. One reason is that I "overthink" the task or idea of one day at a time." It could be as easy as set a goal for each day and follow it or as complicated as why this goal, or am I fully committed to it, is the goal worthwhile, should I change it, am I still interested in it, is it a waste of my time? This is all going on my head while I am at a standstill and time is racing on. In the moment, I am not doing, I am thinking, and the project is at a standstill. "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12. I have come to understand that everyday is a gift. Therefore, I have to get back on track so as not to waste this precious gift of time. Time is too precious to waste.
It is difficult to even think about what is most significant to do for daily activities. Well, determining priorities is the way to proceed. Whatever you need to sustain your well being should be considered a priority. Eat, sleep, pray. These are priorities, but I am going to reverse the order; pray, eat, sleep. (You can change the order in which I have written them, so long as you address each). We all need to eat to live, so this must be at the top or near the top of the list. We need to pray/meditate to get us in the state of mind to face the day. A lot of ground is covered here; it also requires some pre-thinking. What do we need to face? What do we think we will face? How will we face it successfully? Is it work, school, family matters, etc? What goals have we set? Have we designed specific steps to be taken daily? What are those steps? Do we have a timetable for accomplishing them? We cannot accomplish all our goals in a day. But, by addressing what is needed to reach our goals daily, we are well on our way to meeting our goals. This is where prayer comes in. We need to be able to focus; we need strength to stay focused and to move forward one step at a time, one day at a time.
This sounds doable; so simply doable. Why did I even choose to write about it? Well, because it is not as easy as it seems. At least not for me. Why? Because thoughts of yesterday and tomorrow keep getting in the way. Logically, I know that these are excuses. But, they are real excuses and can freeze you in place. To change this status (unfreeze), we must remember that our situation is not unique. God knows all about it, from the beginning of time He knew. We have to determine that we are going to trust Him and follow HIs plan. "For I know the plans I have for you, "declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11. Simply put, we need to rely on Him for our daily provision. "The Lord's Prayer....."Give us today our daily bread..." Matthew 6:9-13. Yesterday is gone. It cannot be retrieved. Again, easy to say, but it can hold us hostage if we refuse to let it go. Know that this applies to me as well. It is so comfortable to drift into the past and dwell on what you could have done differently, better, or not at all. This may be true. But, the option to change anything in the past is not available. What to do? Turn those roaming thoughts to gratitude to God that you have survived the past and have the chance to make different and/or better choice/s now.
Never forget that God has a plan for your life. Why not seek it out by studying His word. He knows what is best. He knows us better than we know ourselves. In fact, He knows what we are going to do before we do it. Ask for help. I am not trying to get all preachy, but wisdom is what we need, and a great source of wisdom is the Bible. Try it for yourself. I can only share what has been beneficial in my life. Seriously, see for yourself. Finally, you need sleep. Yes, sleep. A lack of sleep can lead to poor choices. Speaking for myself, my will to have a productive day is hampered by insufficient sleep. I find myself too tired to be completely involved in following my plans. For example, I my plan to walk a half mile as a part of my exercise routine. If I end up watching tv until 3:00am or 4:00am in the morning, a 7:00 am walk is not or more than likely not going to happen. I know, I can walk at 9:00, but I don't. That lack of follow through throws my day off and everything else I had planned seems negotiable; to be honest, negotiated off the plan for the day. So, sleep is important.
In the Bible, a great example of following God's plan daily is that of Joshua when he won the battle of Jericho by following God's directives. According to Joshua 6:1-27, the walls of Jericho fell after the Israelites marched around the city walls once a day for six days, seven times on the seventh day, with the priests blowing their horns daily and the people shouting on the last day. This is what God had instructed and Joshua and his people experienced victory. Doing as God instructs always leads to victory. God is able to give us victory instantaneously, but how would that impact our faith? I'm just asking. Doing what God instructed and the way he instructed is why the walls came tumbling down. There is power in taking one day at a time because that is all we can manage.
I know that we all want to be successful; at least we want to be content. More than likely this is not going to occur by happenstance. We have to take some action. You have heard it all before. Yet, you have not made the transition to living one day at a time. Hold that thought on "living," I am going to get back to this.
Living one day at a time means being fully in the moment. Being present in what you are doing; being intentional about what you are doing; and bringing your whole self to the moment without blocking the way with the past and/or the future. It is what is happening "right now" that has your attention and energy. "Whew!" That's a lot. Can you do it? Suggestion: Have at least one non-negotiable in your plan (one thing you are going to follow through on no matter what).
Take stock of yourself and your abilities. What is it that you want to do and have the ability and/opportunity to do. You cannot be a rocket scientist if you hate school, math, physics and science in general. Yes, you can study any subject, but if you do not have interest, aptitude or the fortitude to do what it takes to accomplish a given goal, then change it. Why spend years and then realize that you really have no interest in being a rocket scientist and neither the ability.
Let go of some stuff (people, places, things, etc.) that do not promote your goals. This seems a little cold, but you must "man up" or "woman up." There are some setbacks that are out of your control. But, there are some things that we can control. You can choose who you hang with and where you hang out. You most certainly choose the things that you indulge in. Make them all positive and beneficial for living your best life. "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is pure, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." Philippians 4:8. "As a man thinks, so is he." Provers 23:7.
Keep on making plans. It goes without saying that you must plan. The problem is sticking to the plan. Pin it up where you can see it. My personal trainer (M. Bernard) says that if you do not make a plan, you have no intention of following one. This is so true. Make a plan, get a good night's rest; and when you wake up, give thanks and seek God's help in keeping the plan you made.
Get moving! You know the old adage: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." Do not overthink. You decide how many steps you want to take each day and then get to stepping and do not look back!
All we have is today; maybe not even the whole day. If you are reading this post, it means you are alive and in the moment. So, while we are in the moment of each day, let us be on point and follow through with the daily plan, trusting God daily. About "living," if you are not actively engaged in making the most of each moment, then you are not "living life to its fullest." LIVE EVERY MOMENT!! May God bless you in this endeavor.
Yours, Yvette
Thank you for your continued support. I remain appreciative. You can comment at vttlane@gmail.com.
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