A wise man sat me down during the first week of married life.
“Bill, the first day of your married life is like the first week.”
I recognized his words ringing true.
He continued, “The first week is like the second week. The second week is like the first month. The first month like the first year. The first year like the rest of your life. Be careful with today.”
Today, two plus decades later, I recognize his wisdom and the true ring. There is a second part I originally missed. My peace today, or lack of, will only become more so; my thirst for more only becomes more acute. As I deal with today, I decide tomorrow’s happiness.
As I look around me, at those struggling to fend off the creditors, to those caught by the long arms of their jobs, and also to those seemingly at peace with everything and everyone, I see a paradox. The rich get richer, but not in the ways the world normally measures. A more accurate description is as follows: “The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.” (Proverbs 11.24)
In today’s economy, there are no assurances that the rich will get richer, or even that they will stay rich. In today’s society, even the best marriages seem to fail and at least come apart on the edges. In the world around you and me, people struggle to deal with everything that is coming at them. Sickness; immobilizing diseases, acute pain, and degenerative wars on the senses and the mind are more the norm than the exception. Broken relationships; family, personal, and corporate are accepted states of being. People’s thirst is higher than any time in their life for the Divine, yet God seems more illusive than ever.
My advice is to deal with today. The answer lies in what you do in this moment. This moment, leads to this hour, and then to this morning, and then on into the day. God is here, now, your move.
