The...Only A Day At A Time! Story

It was an ordinary day.  The last of the summer days is now behind us.  School is back in session, and the weather is showing some signs of turning cooler.  Vacation time is wrapping up, and hunting season and a host of other fall activities are just around the corner.  My birthday has gone and I will look forward for the next one.  "Where did the time go?" we ask.  Whether it is one year, twenty years, or eighty years which is my case, they quickly disappear, as I sadly know.  But, it is only a day at a time.  Just one day, but they add up, and as we reflect upon them, we must concede they are but a vapor.  Here today and gone tomorrow!  I have concluded that no one can really understand the way time takes flight until they have lived long enough to have sufficient years to reflect upon.  That may vary for people, but for most, it is somewhere around the mid-life threshold.  We don't have a clear understanding of what ten years looks like when looking ahead, but we can reflect on ten years gone by and say, "Wow, that was ten years ago.  That can't be!"  We are in disbelief until the proof is presented, and then we must accept what history has recorded.  It is only a day at a time, but one day wasted and then another and another add up to wasted years.  Days of service for the benefit of others, of kindness, goodness, patience, thoughtfulness, understanding, and charity add up and tire you out.  But my, does it sleep good at the end of the day!  It is only a day at a time, but most of us have things on the list that are unfinished at day's end.  Perhaps our list is too long.  Maybe we didn't take the time to compile a list.  Maybe we are a procrastinator.  Or, perhaps we have a dozen jobs started, and none we can chalk off as finished. Some people work that way.  They get tired of doing one thing and can't wait to get started on the next project.  They are always busy, but the "completed" box never gets checked, and that is how they go through life.  Unfinished!  It is only one day at a time.  Hey, maybe we should be keeping a written diary rather than trying to store it all in the brain.  Just taking a few minutes to record the events of a day or a week gives you something to reference in the future.  Five or ten minutes at the end of each day before you say your prayers and fall asleep will give you a host of content.  Maybe someday you can write an autobiography or maybe a blog!!  Focus on the highlights.  Don't get bogged down in the details, and leave the editing for later.  It is only one day at a time.  But...it is history!  One event leads to another and as you piece together those events, you can see progress unfold, or the lack thereof.  Entire books have been written on history, analyzing the things people have accomplished and places that once existed.  There have been some brilliant ideas put forth in one generation, only to be utilized in the next.  There are ideas that have failed, as well.  Yes, it is only one day at a time.  But, every day is important!  What we say and what we do.  Where we go and what we think.  Whether we smile or whether we are a grouch.  Whether we responsibly pay our bills or whether we default on our obligations.  Whether we are responsible or irresponsible.  Whether we are polite or sarcastic.  Who we are and what we do speaks to our character and reputation.  What we are made of and how we function on a regular basis becomes habit forming.  It is only a day at a time, but it molds and shapes who we are and what we become, and it leaves behind a legacy.  When we pass from this life, our children and our friends will only have memories!  Let us work to make those memories good ones, and may our life be one that will not regret and one that God will honor!  So Be It!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.