Taking Care of Today Today

11.20.13

Matthew 6.34 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." - Jesus (ESV)

If you hang around me for very long (some just can’t stomach it, I know) you’ll find I take a shine to what is affectionately known as the Serenity Prayer. If you’re not familiar with the prayer you might recognize the first stanza:

God grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change;

Courage to change the things I can;

And wisdom to know the difference.

For years I knew the first part of the prayer and then during a time of great personal difficulty, I became familiar with the second stanza:

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world

as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with Him

Forever in the next.

Amen.

I especially like the part that says: living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time. And so, when I read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, as it is affectionately known, I hear the Lord saying: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.” (V. 6.25) And I read this and I think about how often I spend energy (and time) doing exactly what He counsels me not to do: be anxious. Sigh. I need to learn to live differently: one day at a time; each moment as it comes.

We’re taught as a society to have plans and to prosper and to think about tomorrow and to plant and to build and to accumulate and, and, and... We’re not taught to live one day at a time and enjoy the moments. We’re too busy thinking about the next move. And Jesus said, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” In other words, Paul, you got enough to think about for today, let alone worrying about tomorrow (which by the way, never comes: it’s always only ever right now.)

It’s hard to unlearn all I’ve been taught about life and culture, and, and, and... But there is a longing in me to learn to let go, and let God. (Cliché, I know) I think Jesus teaches in me in the Sermon on the Mount, to concentrate on today and let God take care of tomorrow whenever it decides to show up. And the prayer powerfully echoes: living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time.

And so, today, I echo in the prayer what Jesus teaches me on the mount: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living only in this day because it is all I really have, and trusting You moment by moment ,finding Your presence in those moments. Thank You Lord! Amen.