One Day at a Time

I’m not sure if it is because the school holidays were derailed somewhat with power outages and chicken pox, but I feel like as a family we’ve erupted with ferocity onto the landscape of the last term of school. At the moment every phone call or email seems to have me adding an extra event to the family calendar. Birthday parties, work functions, school gala days, fireworks nights. All great things, but it makes me feel like I’m starting to hurtle towards the end of the year at such a pace that I might rush past it straight into next year! And somehow I don’t think a strategy of upping my coffee intake is going to suffice. I need a better plan!

Unsurprisingly with these events swirling around my mind I started singing the lyrics to “One day at a time“. It’s a song from my childhood. In the days before youtube, Spotify or iTunes that have you selecting and playing your favourite song within seconds, when it came to listening to your favourite song that you didn’t own on LP, request radio was the way. You’d ring up and request your song and then wait, patiently listening to all the other songs until your song was played. I remember as a 6 or 7  year old my mother coming at getting us at night to gather around the radio to listen to our favourite songs that she’d requested. “One day at a time” was one of these songs. So perhaps due to that special feeling of hearing the song that we’d requested being played that I am still able to remember it today.

One day at a time, sweet Jesus, that’s all I’m asking from You
Give me the strength to do everyday what I have to do
Yesterday’s gone, sweet Jesus, and tomorrow may never be mine
So for my sake, teach me to take one day at a time

Recalling this song at this moment in time is God’s way to giving me the strategy to get through this busy season. To take one day at a time. To tackle what is ahead of me for that one day, to enjoy that one day without worrying about the next day or the day after that. Jesus has given us sufficient grace to get through each day. I need to just look at what is immediately ahead of me and tackle that. Rather like a show jumper – the rider and the horse are only ever focusing on the jump that is in front of them. Worrying about the ones to come could jeopardise the jump right before them and cause them to fall.

‘So don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time’ (Matthew 6:34).

The calling we have today is not to arrange for strength and mercies for tomorrow. The strength and mercies needed for tomorrow will be provided by God in tomorrow. When the Israelites were in the wilderness they were completely dependent on God for food. And He provided daily – every day. The Manna was enough for that day. If hoarded for the next day it went rotten. Sufficient provision given for each day, every day.

Unseen, prepared mercies and grace will be given to me tomorrow, so today I thank Him for the grace He has given me for today.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)