| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “The end of anxiety and despair” Our Bible verse for today: “Come now, you who say, ‘Tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring – what your life will be! For you are like a vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.” James 4:13-14 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Take it as it comes” For most of my adult life I was a jogger. Not a runner, a jogger. My legs are too short to go very fast, but I could go a long distance. And so, I jogged. A lot. Five times a week for years. Then age kicked in, my knees started getting sore, and jogging turned into walking. So, these days I walk. A lot. Pretty much every day. And … it turns out this is better. When I jogged, I wasn’t going fast, which was okay because I wasn’t in a race, I was just jogging for the exercise and for the joy of jogging. Now I walk for the same reasons. It’s good exercise and I enjoy it. But I’ve discovered that I actually enjoy walking more than I enjoyed jogging because since I’m going slower, I appreciate my surroundings more. I take the time to really look at what’s around me and to appreciate the trail through the woods, the path around the lake, the well-manicured lawns in the neighborhood. You see, I’m not walking to get anywhere. If I need to get somewhere I own a truck, a car, a motorcycle, a mountain bike, a skateboard, and roller skates. (Okay, the skateboard was left behind by one of my sons from his teenage years and I don’t actually use the roller skates anymore, but you get my point. I don’t have to walk to get anywhere, and getting anywhere isn’t the reason for the walking. Enjoying the walk is the reason for the walking). The same should be true of life. As was noted in yesterday’s devotional, many of us spend way too much time rushing through life from one place to another, from one thing to another. It’s like the line from the old country song, “I rush and rush until life’s no fun”. James 4:13-14 echoes Ecclesiastes 3:1-5 (cited yesterday). Slow-down and relax. Enjoy life. The future will get here when it gets here. The present is here now, so embrace it and enjoy it. In fact, as James points out, tomorrow may never come. Today may be the last one for you. So, embrace today. Appreciate it. Enjoy it. A key to learning to live without anxiety and despair is to worry a little less about the future and focus a little more on embracing and enjoying the present. Just slow-down, relax, and take it as it comes. God bless, Pastor Jim |
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