Joe, a man who is familiar to all of us. Joe is a pretty regular kind of fellow, never really quite satisfied. In high school, he knows that he will be happy just as soon as he gets his driver's license. He gets it, but now he needs to get into a certain college to feel really fulfilled. Well, he is accepted, but now he very much wants to marry a special classmate. And so on. Then it's a child that will really do it, and then he just needs to be promoted to vice president of the company. And then Joe begins to live vicariously through the children. And then he is just waiting for grandchildren, and then he begins to count the years until retirement, when he can really relax. Finally, Joe retires and sets out on his long-planned dream fishing trip in the Smokies. Joe rows out into the middle of the lake, casts out his line, and keels over, dead. Joe's moment of happines never came; it was always just around the next bend.
Jesus has a message for Joe and for the rest of us. He spoke of the present. "Take no thought or worry for tomorrow," he instructed. "Look at the lilies of the field; they neither spin nor toil, and I tell you that Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. If God takes care of the grass, which is here one day and gone the next, will He not all the more care for you, His Children?" Jesus also said," The evil of the day is sufficient unto itself." In other words, do what you need today; tomorrow will take care of itself. Let us live in the here and now, while standing in the Lord's presence. The future is in God's hands, so let us leave it with Him.
Remember what the Psalmist wrote:
This is the day the Lord hath made.
I will rejoice and be glad in it.
(Psalms 118:24)
Each moment is a gift from God. Let us take it in as if it were our last. Let us rejoice in it.
Let us use it for the greater good to glorify Jesus.
Amen.
Many years back, when my Body Dysmorphic Disorder was casting shadows upon my path, I stepped up my search for healing. I visited a trinity shop when I was out running errands and purchased the book Calm My Anxious Heart, by Linda Dillow. Some of the most memorable passages in this book were actual poems. One particular, incredibly humbling, was written by Helen Keller, who, if you remember, was deaf and blind. Reading her poem forced me to put my BDD into perspective, for my condition was nothing compared to Helen's circumstances. Helen wrote these thought provoking words:
They took away what should have been my eyes,
(But I remembered Milton's Paradise)*
They took away what should have been my ears,
(Beethoven came and wiped away my tears)**
They took away what should have been my tongue,
(But I had talked with God when I was young)
He would not let them take away my soul,
Possessing that, I still possess the whole.
* Milton's Paradise is an Epic poem published
in 10 books.
** Helen was able to feel the magnificent
symphonic vibrations.
Another poem that left me with a lasting impression was written by a 14-year-old boy. Yes, 14 years old:
It was spring but I wanted summer; the warm days and the great outdoors.
It was summer but I wanted fall; the colorful leaves and the cool dry air.
It was now winter but I wanted spring; the warmth and the blossoming of nature.
I was a child but I wanted adulthood; the freedom and the respect.
I was twenty but I wanted thirty; the maturity
and sophistication.
I was middle-aged but I wanted twenty; the youth and the free spirit.
I was retired but I wanted middle-age; the presence of mind without limitations.
My life is over now, and I never got what I wanted.
______________
Let us not forget Apostle Paul's wonderful testimony:
"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." (Phil 14-11)
______________
We've been getting our daily dose of rain over the past week, creating a perfect environment for the mosquito to populate. I commute to the prison some two hours away. This is where I work folks - in an all-male prison. The fallen rainwater pools on the ground at the unit I work, standing for days at a time. Oh my! The mosquitos are horrible. Sadly to say, State has yet to spray the yard.
I'm in the midst of those bugs and it is a real challenge to find joy while hundreds of these frenzied insects slam against my face and ears,then some how finding their way into my mouth. On several occasions I found myself talking to the Lord and asking Him: "Help me Lord to find some good in these irritating little creatures that you've created. I know there is some good in all this - perhaps a little more protein in my diet when one or two fly in my mouth." I'd get myself to laugh it off, because, folks, its miserable where I work right now. Doesn't matter how much repellent you put on. They are so thick, you can't get away! All of us there are trying so hard to get through the night as we wage war against the bugs. We do little, silly dances on the yard as we frantically try and swat the bugs away. This effort is futile but we sure do get some good laughs trying to make the most of a very bad-bug situation. When all else fails, we just got to "laugh it off!"
Why the bugs? Answer: Part of the food chain for fish and amphibians, not to mention extra protein for the human.
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Building
For Yesterday is but a Dream,
And To-morrow is only a Vision;
But To-Day, well lived,
Makes every Yesterday
A dream of Happiness,
And Every To-Morrow a Vision of Hope.
The Time is Brief
(Grace Noll Crowell)
Because the longest life is brief
I must be swift in keeping
The little trysts with kindliness,
Before the time of sleeping!
I must be swift in reaching out,
To those whose hearts are yearning;
O, swift indeed to love them much
Before the long road's turning!
Before a sudden summons comes,
I surely must be saying
The words that I have failed to say~
The prayers I should be praying.
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