A close family friend, as healthy as you’d ever imagine, suffered a heart-attack on Thanksgiving morning. He went to bed on November 21st, but did not awake on the 22nd. Survived by his wife and two kids.
My neighbor is in his 40’s and was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. I played basketball with him just a few months before. His diagnosis surprised everybody—including him.
I recently received a phone call on an otherwise normal Tuesday morning that a friend of mine had lost his teenage daughter in an automobile accident the night before. As awful a news as anyone could ever receive.
Then there is the story of my relative, who showed up to work last summer, only to find her workplace being searched by the authorities as they investigated fraud. By the end of the week, she was without work.
And my parents, just yesterday, were in a car accident. Everybody is fine, fortunately. But their automobile was totaled.
Life changes fast. This season of life you are in could end at any time. Everything could change tomorrow.
Of course, tomorrow isn’t necessarily worse than today. It may change for the better.
In early December 2001, my wife walked into our living room to share important news with me, she was pregnant with our first child. My life forever changed that day.
Our best friends down the street received a job promotion that took them back home to Texas. My cousin, simply hanging out with friends one evening was introduced to a girl, who quickly became his girlfriend, and soon became his wife.
And my life changed dramatically for the better on a Saturday morning 10 years ago when my neighbor unexpectedly introduced me to minimalism—a conversation that changed my passion and eventually, my career.
They say the only constant in life is change. They are right.
Sometimes we plan out our lives—our days, our weeks, our years—and everything falls into place. But other times, we make our plans, only to have them upended by circumstances outside of our control.
Either way, the only constant is change. Life never remains the same. Sometimes it changes for the better, sometimes it changes for the worse, but always for something different than today.
I find myself reflecting on that fact this morning as I sit alone at this empty table. My life is good, and peaceful in this moment. My family is happy, and we are all healthy. I have friends I can rely on, extended family I enjoy being with, and our financial needs are being met doing work that I love.
lt is easy, I suppose, to think life will stay this way forever. But that is not the case. Everything could change as early as tomorrow.
This may cause some to worry. But I do not think the best response is to worry about the future. I mean, the change that is coming could be a positive one. Besides, worrying won’t change the future anyway. Change is going to happen whether you worry about it or not.
Instead, I think the best response is to fully appreciate this very moment, because it could change at any time.
If life is good, count your blessings, be thankful, and enjoy the moments—every single one of them. Slow down, take a deep breath, and savor this season as best you can.
If, on the other hand, your life is not in a good place, take heart, because change is coming. As the seasons change, so does life. Value love, faith, and hope. Find peace to accept the things you cannot change and courage to change the things you can. But through it all, remember, this is only a season. Things will change, they always do.
If you can only live one moment at a time, you might as well make it the present. After all, we have no idea how long “today” will last… everything could change as soon as tomorrow.
Tien says
Beautifully written. Thank you!
laurie b says
Your post is timely for me. I lost a dear friend last Friday. I hold to my heart the fact she is no longer in pain. Still was a sad day.
Always be grateful and reach out when you can. You just never know.
Ellen says
This post is spot on. Thank you.
Abigail Miller says
I’m fairly new to your writing, but I have really appreciated your approach to life and the way you communicate all you have learned and are learning. This article in particular grabbed me this morning, and while it’s not a new idea to me, it definitely helped set the tone for my day today and days to come. We’ve been going through a lot of transition in our life lately–upheaval might be a better word. In all of it I thank you for the reminder that we really only have today. God bless you!
Jennifer says
Thank you for this reminder. My husband and I were even talking about something similar this morning. (Probably because we were on the last day of your devotional app!) I do not want the end of my life to be here wishing that I had done more. Today is the day to do more, and for me I feel that it means giving away more of my things, money and time.
Karen says
Exactly what I needed to read today. Thank you! I’m so glad your parents are okay!!
Betsy says
Reading this brought me to tears. My husband was riding his bike to work a few months ago and his heart stopped. Luckily there were people behind him that knew what to do. Many of his bones broke in the fall and he is still healing. Needless to say it was unsettling for us both. We are dealing with a heart issue we never knew was there even with yearly physicals, healthy diet and exercise. We don’t know what the future holds. I get up every morning and am grateful for another day with him. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Thank you Joshua.
Alana Stanton says
Wonderful post! Being present in each moment allows us to have Gratitude in our lives. Thank you Joshua for this beautiful reminder!
Alana Stanton
JC says
Thank you for this article. It speaks to me. Recently, I lost my beloved Dad and stepmom unexpectedly one year apart. In a flash, everything changed. Life is different.
Jerre Ferns says
I agree that this is an excellent article. At the moment I’m in one of those valleys where it seems there’ll be no end to stress, but having lived 76 years, I absolutely know things will change. One thing I think we’re all prone to do is look back on the bad times instead of focusing on the many good phases of life. For every death of a loved one, there are wonderful memories of time spent with that person. For every loss, we may gain strength or find friends who come forward to comfort and support us. Thanks for reminding us to appreciate the present.