As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. -- Isaiah 55:10-11

Friday, July 22, 2011

Forever--Part 2

A lot of people think I'm...well, I've been told I can't think “forever” when just getting to know someone or on the first date or second date or...

Then when?

No one thinks that way. I should think in more manageable terms, like six months or a year, maybe two. Those are reasonable. No one thinks twenty years down the road.

Maybe they should. Maybe if they did the divorce rate wouldn't be so high. Maybe if Rob and I had, we wouldn't have ended up divorced.

Too often it is too easy to think about today.

Am I happy Today?
Does Today make me smile?
Did Today remember my favorite restaurant?
Were Today’s texts sweet and make me feel gooey?
Does Today kiss good?
Does Today fill my stomach with butterflies and emotions with warm fuzzies?
Did Today hurt my feelings?
Did Today forget my birthday?
Did Today not load the dishwasher well?
Today is very fickle, and if it is not watched carefully and controlled with diligence, it can steal forever with such subtlety that one never sees it disappear.

Still, I wholeheartedly agree that focusing on today is essential for forever.

If I wake up today and think about how to value the people in my life, how to value their lives, how to connect with them on a level that is more than passing hellos in the hall, I have embraced the first day of forever because forever is made up of a thousand todays.

But here is the danger.

The danger is letting tomorrow be the first day of forever.

Tomorrow we can do that special thing.
Tomorrow we can have family night.
Tomorrow I can light candles and put on soft music.
Tomorrow we can go to bed early and lock the door.
Tomorrow I can take her on that romantic trip.
Tomorrow...

...Until tomorrow
...when the joy and laughter of yesterday are so far past that it seems hopeless to find them again
...today is lonely and empty and life is found somewhere else
...and tomorrow looks no better
...and they wonder what happened, how it happened, and when it happened

It happened today when forever was some day out there that could be worried about tomorrow.

Today, I choose Forever.

5 comments:

mizzbrizz said...

Right on, Jerri. Very poignantly stated and oh so true...Tomorrow is a someday that never comes!

Debra said...

Well said sister ... exactly and Amen!

bouncergriim said...

Truly Christians must live Today...Forever. Christ has come and we are saved, we live in the resurrection and his glory now forever. They are inextricably tied together. That is important for us to remember. Yesterday is a memory and tomorrow doesn't yet exist... Now and forever are all we have in Our God who created time and lives outside of it.

This is deep and great Jerri.

-Pax, TB

sharilyn said...

dennis prager (a very clear thinker and Conservative radio talk-show host) says to always ask oneself: "does this bring me pleasure for the moment/today or will it bring me lasting happiness in the long-term?" the times i regret most in my life (those which ended up badly) would never have happened if i had asked myself this question and seriously acted upon the answer... food for thought.

Jerri Kelley said...

Mizzbrizz and Debra, bless you!

Thomas, thank you!

Sharilyn, okay, I admit it. There have been times when I did the right now thing knowing it wouldn't be good for forever, but I wanted to feel better RIGHT NOW...and I did regret it. You stated it well:
"the times I regreat most in my life (those which ended up badly) would never have happened if I had asked myself this question and SERIOUSLY ACTED UPON THE ANSWER."

That'll preach, my friend. That'll preach.