And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, “Today—at the latest, tomorrow—we’re off to such and such a city for the year. We’re going to start a business and make a lot of money.” You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. [James 4:13-14 (MSG)]
My wife was dead. All those things we were going to do together were now impossible. We had spent a lifetime working toward that distant goal, making promises to ourselves that now we would never fulfill. Sure, it’s important to plan for the future, but think about this: You’ve had the gift of yesterday, and you are living today with its choices and opportunities, but who knows if you will have tomorrow? You’ve heard it time and time again, but I will tell you – and I know it’s true, because the painful lesson is etched into my yesterday – no one has a guarantee of tomorrow. That’s why it is so important today to tell our spouses and loved ones what they mean to us. [From “Hiking Through” by Paul Stutzman]
The day I started reading Paul Stutzman’s book Hiking Through, about his journey on the Appalachian Trail, was the same day I learned that a friend’s wife has conceded defeat in her war against cancer. Having recently received the last rites, her remaining time is measured in just days and hours. What struck me is the similarity between both men’s situations. Like my friend’s wife, after a long and painful struggle, Stutzman’s spouse lost her battle with cancer. Both couples had persisted through their difficult yesterdays: the financial and professional struggles of the early years and the stress of raising children. They were approaching what I think of as the “wonder” years: those blessed years when careers are secure, the children are capable young adults, money is no longer scarce, health is still good, and there are time and funds enough for travel. Those highly anticipated carefree and joy-filled tomorrows will never happen for either couple.
Having lost my parents in their prime (my mother was only forty-seven and my father just fifty-six), I’ve always had an awareness of life’s brevity. That doesn’t mean I don’t waste precious moments of every today by reliving my yesterdays or anticipating my hoped for tomorrows. May these men’s experiences remind us all that we must take delight in every precious today granted to us. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon makes the point that there is a right time for each activity in life. It is, however, always the right time to praise God for the blessings of the day. Moreover, there is never a wrong time to tell those we love how much we care for them and how precious they are to us.
Devotions of the Heart 