As a 13-year-old, it was, I can’t wait until I can drive. Once I could drive it was, I can’t wait until I’m an adult. When I finally turned 18 it was, I can’t wait until I move out to college. Now that the reality of college has hit it’s more like, I can’t wait until this week/semester/year is over. As we age it becomes, I can’t wait to get a raise or I can’t wait to have kids and then, finally, I can’t wait to finally retire.
With finals right around the corner, and big projects and papers due, I have noticed myself constantly saying these things. I want to be done with the day and the work it requires and move on to the next. I think that tomorrow holds something much more spectacular than today. I tell myself that tomorrow I’ll get more done, I’ll spend more time with my friends, etc, etc, etc. I tell myself that tomorrow will be the right time to start my projects or papers or to just sit and be content. But when is it ever going to be the right time? We wish today away for hopes of a less stressful, busy, or exhausting tomorrow only to wish away tomorrow when it comes.
Proverbs 27:1 reminds us “do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what the day will bring.”
In the time that I wish the day or week away because of work and other stressors, how many positive thoughts could I have had? By wishing today away, I am wishing away all the beautiful things that come with it. I was doing homework with a group of friends the other day, and I looked up from my work and realized that they are all going to be seniors in a few short weeks. When I wish away today to avoid the stress of it, I’m wishing away my precious time with the people that I treasure the most.
Matthew 6:34 says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
It’s true that each day has enough trouble of its own, but it’s just as true that each day has an abundance of blessings. Each day is full of little things that God has placed in front of me to show me the depth of his love for me but often the Devil magnifies the stress of the world, so that those abundant blessings seem like average occurrences.
I don’t believe that wishing today away will ever make us feel better. I don’t believe that hoping for a less stressful tomorrow will make today any less stressful. I do think that focusing on today’s blessings -- the birds chirping, friends laughing, time in prayer, a caring professor -- makes the stressful days bearable. There will never be truly perfect timing for anything on this side of Heaven. While we’re lucky enough to spend our days on Earth, it is our job to make the most of each day and what it offers, acknowledging the blessings and growing in the trials.
