Living One Day At A Time

It's so easy for me to become fixated on difficult circumstances.  Financial trials, poor health, etc...whatever life throws my way.  I have a habit of staring my trials in the face, studying them, digesting them, worrying about them, trying to outsmart them, and ultimately, putting all of my effort into attempting to control them.  As much as I say I will 'let go and let God', I find myself standing in the way.

Money dries up?  I obsess over netbanking and look ahead to pay days so that I can over-analyze, over-plan, and over-worry about the next week's budget.  Body fails me?  I look ahead to the next morning so that I might have a shot at feeling better, wonder if there's anything I can do to stop the symptoms, wonder if 'this is just what it's gonna be'.  In the meantime, I miss the blessings.

Hmph.  Maybe this is more of an 'altar call' than I thought;-)

In any case, I woke up the other morning with only one thought running through my typically traffic jammed mind.  That thought?  "Enjoy my blessings one day at a time instead of looking past them to the next 'whatever'".  I've made it a personal quest of sorts to take each day and just...appreciate it.  

Reminds me of the Serenity Prayer.  Live one day at a time, enjoy one moment at a time, trust that He will make all things right.  His 'right', not my 'right'.  They're often two very different versions;-)

It's taken conscious effort to *not* look beyond today.  To calm my mind.  To surrender these trials to the Lord.  In other words, to take a step to the side and get out of His way.  To enjoy the hugs from my kids while they're being given freely (without any begging on my part), to savor my marriage, to appreciate every moment I have with my family members, and to cherish my friendships...

With all that to enjoy, who's got time to stare at the mountain?

"One day at a time--this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering."