After The Work

What if you only had one more day left on this earth? For some, this is sadly a reality but if you would indulge a thought experiment. If there were 24 hours left to spend on earth, every word spoken, every minute spent would have a new purpose and meaning. We would spend time with our loved ones, eat our favorite food, listen to our favorite music perhaps even go on a day trip.

Most of us do not live in that reality. We have faith the sun will come up tomorrow and we devote ourselves to our routine even though anything is possible. It is easy to become entrenched in the mundane, our eyes passing over the remarkable beauty that exists latent in our lives. We walk out the door to work and forget to kiss our spouse and think “Oh, well. I’ll do it next time.”

To combat this numbness we turn to gratitude. We can put pen to paper (or keyboard) and simply list what we are grateful for in our lives today. It may be difficult at first, but starting with the very basics like food, shelter, companionship, work, rest and alike will get the ball rolling. We turn our thoughts to God and thank Him for what we do have in our lives. We thank him for what mercies we have experienced in our lives. We begin to comprehend how truly blessed we are, our worries and fears begin to get smaller. Just do it for one day. And then the next.

Psalm 136 begins “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.” It goes on to list many of the might works of God on Israel’s behalf. The community of faith sung his praises for remembrance of God’s greatness and goodness. Exercises in gratitude are a long standing practice of faith. We remember the past work of God in our life with gratitude, hope in the provision of God in the days to come so that we can live in the moment and enjoy his presence.

In the moment we can truly see our loved ones, not our expectations of them. In the moment we can let go of our fears knowing God will care for our futures just as he has cared for our past. We may not have all the material blessings in our life today, but perhaps that wouldn’t be enough anyway. That kind of treasure we cannot take with us, but we will take with us our love, our memories, and our time spent together. Just for one day, you can do it.