How much time and energy do we spend thinking, planning, projecting, worrying about what is to come in the future? If you’re like me, your thoughts are often found down a path where you haven’t yet stepped your feet.
Conversely, how much time do we spend each day thinking about something that has already happened and how we would have done it differently? We can get tripped up looking backward to the good ol’ days or beating ourselves up with regrets and slip-ups of the past. (Guilty as charged here!)
If we’re honest, we will likely realize that much of our brain space and energy are spent in some time other than today.
Both the past and the future do have their importance; however, giving in to the propensity to time travel in our thoughts and emotions can leave us missing the one day that we have right now: today! The present is our place of power. It’s where our decisions are made. What we do with today determines the moments that make up the story of our lives. Regardless of yesterday and preemptive to tomorrow, your today counts! Not only for you, but for those who will come after you.
These are your current marching orders: Embrace the grace for today. Recognize the opportunities that you hold right now, in this very moment, to set the trajectory for what’s to come.
Take a deep breath and let it out. The pressure is off. The grace for yesterday has gone and tomorrow’s portion will be waiting, but right now, the grace for today is yours. This moment is yours. His mercies are new every morning, and His faithfulness is true every night.
My prayer for you is that you keep time in perspective, that you value the space that holds you now and that you embrace the power and the grace—His divine enablement—that is with you and for you today. {eoa}
Katie Stansfield is the co-host of the new podcast, Life Exchange, as well as staff pastor and administrator at Giving Light in Elizabethville, Pennsylvania. With a practical, down-to-earth style, Katie believes in tearing down personal and societal barriers so that we can model and lead successful and healthy lives, ministries and cultures.
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