I have contact with many people and am amazed at how many times I find myself talking about what "didn't" happen as opposed to what "did" happen in my day. I didn't get this/that done. I didn't get time to do say this or that. My day didn't go the way I thought/planned it would go. He/she didn't follow through and do what they said they would do. Do you suppose that Jesus is tired of my talking, thinking and living like this? I think he is. Habits are very hard to break. Most of the time we just look at he symptoms and not the problems that keep habits intact. For instance, we want to quit chocolate (not recommended) so we remove the items containing chocolate from our house. We go to the store and there all around us is chocolate! When we treat the symptoms and not the problem, we do not break the habit. At best we put the habit on "pause" until we can't or won't resist any longer. It's that way with how we see yesterday (our past) and today (our present) and quite possibly see tomorrow (our future) as well. We are surrounded with a world of negativity stemming from our own discontentment with life.
Somehow expectations form and become a driving force within us. We expect to accomplish the items on our lists but get derailed when one item takes longer, has more problems, or just slips by the wayside and isn't done. Since we are a driven people we look around to blame someone or something for our "failure" to do that item. What a lie! Yet, I see myself and others do just this day in and day out. Leaving work with work undone, driving that car we "intended" to get fixed/cleaned/filled with gas, having that nice meal ready for your family when they are ready, and so on and so on. Yesterday I intended to do laundry. Didn't happen. Why? Because I chose to take a nap instead. I chose to go shopping instead. I chose to make a Craigslist deal instead. I chose anything but doing my laundry. It's not that it's a hard task. Nor is it a task that really takes time away from other things needing to be done. I just had this wall in front of me mentally and did not want to do the laundry. So I didn't. I didn't moan about it either though. I still have underwear so all is good. Guys are that way!
Each day brings with it 24 hours and not a minute more. Each day brings it's complications both known and unknown. We don't know what will happen in our day. We may have plans but what if God has other plans? What do we do? My plans should always be second to God's plans. When they are not I tend to not do what God has planned. On February 16, 2015 at 4:20 in the afternoon while on the way to the vet with my dogs, I suffered a heart attack. I called 911 and ANY plans I had for the next few years were gone. A week in the hospital to stabilize and then double bypass changed even more plans. ONE moment in time changes everything. It wasn't in my plans to have a heart attack. The results were immense. I became more thankful of every moment I've been given to live. Things that matter most were less prone to be at the mercy of those that matter least. Waking up each day is a miracle now! Breathing is wonderful! I don't have time to worry about what I have no control over and that habit is going away. My habit of looking back is changed to looking forward to TODAY. Tomorrow will take care of itself. My day is filled with purpose even when I'm just taking a nap. Since the heart attack my relationship with God has grown. What he wants is more intense in me. He doesn't care about yesterday and he has tomorrow all locked up. Today he just wants me to be blessed. That's not a mistake!
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