Thursday, January 18, 2007

The Tomorrow Mentality

"Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." James 4:13-17

Lately I've found myself to be a "tomorrow" or a "one day" kind of person. You know, as in, "Tomorrow I need to spend some serious time in prayer about some things I'm dealing with." Or, "I really need to call so-and-so, but I'm busy right now. I'll do it tomorrow." Or, worse, "The kids really need me to sit and spend some quality time with them, but I'm washing the dishes right now. I'll do it later." Ouch.

In the three years we've lived in this town, I've spent an awful amount of time complaining about the town, our church, the fact that I haven't really made any true friends since we've been here, etc. I've also spent a fair amount of time wishing we were somewhere else. My mentality has been, "Well, I'll mark time here for now and one day it will get better." That's not the right attitude to have. My first experience with this town was when I came down with my husband for his initial job interview. That took place immediately upon his return to the states from a year of active duty in Bosnia. I met him in Kentucky when his unit flew in, and the two of us drove south for his interview, which he had set up through e-mail conversations with the man who became his current boss. He didn't even get to go home and see the boys first (we lived in Indiana then). When we visited here, I was less than impressed and didn't want to move here, but D. needed a job, and this was really a dream job in his civilian career, and the Army only pays some of the bills, seeing as it is his "part-time" job. So, sitting in that hotel room, listening to D. talk about what a great interview it had been and how the job was just perfect, I asked, "So, it looks like you're going to get an offer, huh?" And I truly was excited for him. I just wasn't as excited about the location. But two weeks later, we were moving in to our new house, and now it has been a little over 3 years. This is where submission can be hard! Don't get me wrong, this is a beautiful part of the country. It's just a much smaller town than I had ever lived in before, and I am so not used to not having a mall and all the amenities a larger city can provide, and the Lord has really worked on me about the church issues as well, and we are still praying over some of them, as I've posted in the past. But the way the whole thing came about, it was just obvious that God had provided this job for D. and that this was the right move. That's why my feelings about it have been such a hard thing for me to work through. Though, slowly, slowly the Lord is teaching me things and I'm learning to be thankful we moved here.

Anyway, while indulging my attitude about our new home, I have not done what I ought to do. I have gotten involved at church, but I've held people at arms' length. There is a young mom I know I need to reach out to, but I've been procrastinating. I don't know anymore why I'm having such a hard time reaching out, but it is a struggle. Also, in light of my post yesterday, I am really convicted that I've had an attitude of taking for granted that we have lots of tomorrows. We may, but, then again, we may not. Only God knows for sure. For us to assume we can count on tomorrow is the height of arrogance. I do know that God has written all the days He has fashioned for me. He knows the days of my life. But I am not guaranteed tomorrow. So, for me not to do today what I know is right and put it off until tomorrow, is to sin. It is essentially not to do what I know to do, because it seems I usually don't ever get around to most of those "tomorrow" things. And to assume that I have all the time in the world to catch up with old friends is also the height of arrogance. The time to do that is now.

So, I'm going to make a phone call right now and set a time to get together with that young mom I know that needs some encouragement. How about you? What have you been putting off until tomorrow?


4 comments:

Rick Frueh said...

Oh yes, but there is one tomorrow that will fill the eastern sky. And on that day all the yesterdays will evaporate and we will live in the eternal "tomorrow" with Him who can never be captured by time.

I am one who would tend to jump from one thing to another, so it amazes my family that when I became a follower of the Lord Jesus in March of 1975 I have continued even to today. They didn't take into account that I haven't perservered on my strength, no, it is all of Him and none of me. Thank You, Jesus.

Rebekah said...

So true. By God's unspeakable, immeasurable grace, that is one tomorrow we can count on. That is the day we look toward, and I am humbled and amazed that the good work Christ began in me, He will see to completion. In light of that grace and my growing love for Him, I want to live each day He grants me in this life to honor Him and to obey Him, however, and not to waste the "todays" as I ever look to that one blessed tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful post. And, a truth we all should grasp. I was a funeral director for a number of years and during that time I learned that often death comes when we least expect it.

So, for now, the Lord has you in this particular field. Time to get planting.

Rebekah said...

Thank you for your encouraging comments, Everydaymommy. I've thought a lot about your statement, "Time to get planting," since yesterday, and yes, that's truly the point I was trying to make. Since it looks like we will probably be here for a while, the way for me to be obedient right now is to learn to be content here and live each day for Christ. So thank you for your kind thoughts!