Living in the Moment

I read something that stuck with me and cropped up in a couple of conversations since. It said something to the effect of: If you keep putting off today the things you can do tomorrow, then you end up with a bunch of empty yesterdays. Let that sink in a moment.

How many times have you been faced with something to do, but put it off because it might not have been convenient? Maybe you thought you could get to it tomorrow, but by the time tomorrow comes, you’re met with twice as many things as you were the day before. Now it is harder and harder to do the things that you can do to really make a difference in a person’s life.

There are two things I’ve observed about human behavior that get in the way and can lead to some empty yesterdays. First is a sense of feeling overwhelmed. When we feel overwhelmed, we tend to turn away and take on an attitude of avoidance. Though it isn’t a perfect illustration, here’s an example. Shortly after Tiffany and I were married, we enjoyed making fish sticks and macaroni and cheese for dinner…you know, living the high life! I told my mom that we were enjoying fish sticks, and in a trip to our local wholesale club, she bought us a box of something like a gazillion frozen fish sticks. We had a tiny refrigerator in our apartment and that box of fish sticks took up a disproportionate amount of freezer space. Seeing all those fish sticks in the freezer made us feel so overwhelmed, we never even opened the box, wasting enough fish sticks to feed an army. When we feel overwhelmed, we can do some crazy things to avoid that feeling. When we avoid someone or something, turning back to it can create a sense of guilt, and hence my second point.

We will avoid situations and circumstances when we feel guilty about not doing something we coulda, shoulda, woulda done. Take for example making a phone call. You think, “I can do that tomorrow,” then tomorrow comes, and the next day, and the next day, and so on. Within several days, you know you need to make that call, but guilt creeps in and you are reminded that the call should have been made a week ago. Embarrassment turns to guilt and the call never gets made. The Bible tells us there is no condemnation in Jesus Christ, so if there is something good to do, do it! Even if it should have been done yesterday, last week, month, or year, take the opportunity to do something to brighten someone’s day.

Sadly, we all have some empty yesterdays in our past, but they do not have to be the story of our life! By committing to living for GOD today, we can start a whole new direction for living. GOD has a plan and a purpose for your life, so start that awesome adventure with your very next breath.


“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
~ Mother Teresa