Today

Good Morning My Beloved Ones,

     I pray that you woke up with a song in your heart, praise on your lips and that your day is filled with the joy of the Lord.

     Today I want to talk to you about "Today".  No, that's not a typo.  I want us to learn to appreciate the gift God has given us called "today".

     Because I'm the planner/organizer type, I'm always looking forward to the next event I will be planning, the next trip to Benson, the next letter I write.  My mind makes a cursory stop in the here and now but usually it's way ahead of my body.  My ex-husband, on the other hand, lived firmly rooted in the past.  He spent so much time there instead of in the present with me that I eventually lost him to it.

     There is a reason it's called the "present", my friends. It's God's gift to you and me.  He painted that sunrise just for you; bestowed new mercies just for you; gave you 24 hours in which to live, love, learn, hear what you need to hear, see what you need to see, do what you need to do, and be what you need to be.  We can't fully appreciate the special gift God gave us in today if we are rushing off to tomorrow or are unwilling to leave yesterday.

     My favorite thing about Christmas is choosing the perfect gift for each person on my list.  It doesn't have to be anything expensive, but just the one thing that says, "I know you, I know what you like, I was thinking of you, I love you."  It makes my whole Christmas to see someone I love open that gift and watch their eyes light up and joy fill their face as they recognize that something special was just done for them and they are loved.  I try to choose a gift like that for each person in my family each year.

     Last year, my youngest granddaughter was so excited about Christmas that she tore into my gift, barely looked at it and tossed it aside, eager to open the next gift.  When my nephew got his, we had to pry him away from the last toy he got and was already playing with so he could tear enough of the paper away to see what was inside.  He said, "Oh, thanks, Aunt Rae", and went back to the toy he'd been playing with while my carefully chosen gift sat half-opened and temporarily forgotten.  I'm sure both kids loved my gifts when their attention finally turned to them, but I didn't get the response I was eagerly waiting for.  I didn't get the thing that made Christmas special for me.

     I imagine this is how God feels when we don't take the time to live in and fully appreciate today.  He created each new day just for us and He's waiting for our eyes to light up and joy to fill our faces as we realize He did something special just for us and we are loved.

     We are meant to learn from the past, anticipate the future and live in the present.  Let's learn to appreciate the gift God has given us in "today".  You'll be surprised how much better each day seems when you're looking at it from this perspective.

     THIS is the day the Lord has made.  I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Raelynn