"To worry about what is or may be coming can be debilitating and it can paralyze us and make us quit."
Last week as I attended a CES broadcast, that evening's message hit home. Elder Christofferson spoke about taking care of things one day at a time and not worrying about the future. It sounded ideal, but also struck me as a little odd not to prepare for what's coming. As I listened, that wasn't what he was saying at all. He was speaking about a syndrome, one that has plagued my life since I can remember. It has probably occasioned yours too. You know the feeling when you lay down at night and anything but sugar plums are dancing through your head. All that you can think about is tomorrow. And not in that dreamy sense of possibility, but in clench-jawed, hand-wringing anticipation.
Elder Christofferson must have seen my sleepless nights because the analogy he then presented I felt applied directly to me. Manna was provided daily for the Israelites while travelling through the desert. They were instructed to gather only what they could eat in a day. They took on what they could for that day, worrying only about that day. Those who gathered more than this learned an unpleasant lesson. Gathering manna for more than one day caused it to breed worms and stink. I've observed a similar lesson in my life. When I stress and worry about the things beyond my control of this day, my life resembles something like the smelly, decaying manna. Today has priority over tomorrow. It is making a future for myself daily and doing what is right today that matters most.
"Thoughtful planning and preparation are key to a rewarding future, but we do not live in the future. It is day by day that we work out our plans for the future. It is day by day that we accomplish our goals."
Live for today, and make it beautiful.
Even the small day to day efforts...
...put together make something beautiful.
It is the accumulation of many days well lived...
...That adds up to a full life.
It is the day to day focus on the small and seemingly insignificant...
...that one day we see the grand design
I love you Naomi, and I'm glad I stopped here 'cause your post and pictures are exactly what I needed!
ReplyDeleteI love that quote from that talk. It was a message I needed to hear as well.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this pictures and helping me visualize what day-by-day thinking can accomplish.
-Love ya!
You are amazing! )There is a lot packed into those three words :)) Thank you for your posts.
ReplyDeleteI was slightly offended and had to enlarge the picture and thought "I don't know what picture he's looking at but that is fine and in focus!"
ReplyDeleteThen I understood the joke...haha