Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Healthy Living”
Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Take it one day at a time.”
His name was Dr. George Hodkoppolis and he played an important role at a crucial time in my life. Dr. Hodkoppolis was the Director of the George Washington University extension campus on the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base in Norfolk,VA. I was a twenty-four year old who had dropped out of High School without even completing the 10th grade. A few years earlier I had gone to three weeks of night classes to earn my G.E.D. but still, my scholastic skills were weak to say the least.
At this time I had just struggled through my very first college class. I think it was college-level multiplication, or some ridiculously low level class like that. My final grade was a D+ but the teacher graciously gave me a C-. Before I left the classroom on that last night of class she quietly advised me, “Jim, not everyone is supposed to be in college. Maybe college isn’t right for you.” So the next day I went to the office to withdraw from the program.
But Dr. Hodkoppolis was having none of it. He put his arm around my shoulder, congratulated me on completing my very first college class, and urged me to get busy on the next one. He said, “Jim, you have completed the first step, now take the next one. Don’t worry about your 10th class or your 20th class or any class except your next one. Take it one step at a time, always focusing on just the next step. If you keep doing that, one day you’re going to wake up and discover that you are a college graduate.”
Thirty-six years and four college degrees later, I thank God for putting Dr. Hodkoppolis in my life at that crucial time. His wise advice was exactly what I needed.
One of the primary reasons people give-up and don’t achieve their goals is that the end result – the ultimate achievement – seems overwhelming and unachievable. But the key to success is to focus just on the next step. Successfully complete your goal for today and then turn your attention to the goal for tomorrow. Just walk it out step-by-step, one day at a time. If you do that, one day you will wake-up to discover you have achieved your goal.
“Therefore, don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself.” Just stay focused on what you need to do today.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 