Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Religion Columnist
The time change last Sunday has left me unsettled and will probably last a week or two. Even though the sun rises and sets at the same time, I feel as though I was cheated out of extra sunlight. On Sunday, I kept asking Mark what time it was all afternoon and evening. I am glad there was a football game Sunday night or I might have gone to bed at 7 p.m.
There are 24 hours in a day; no more, no less. With that being the case, why do we try to make time our enemy? How many times have we said we didn’t have enough hours in the day to accomplish everything on our to-do list? Isn’t it interesting how our perspective of time changes as we grow older?
Halloween is barely over and already we are bombarded with the upcoming holidays. Thanksgiving is given a mere mention as people are already talking about their plans for Christmas. As much as I like Christmas movies, I am not quite ready to watch one.
When we were little, we could hardly wait for every major event in our life. How well I remember the arrival of the Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog in September. When I got my turn, I would peruse the pages and prepare my wish list. Of course, that is all it was, a wish list. I was more thrilled with what my parents bought for me.
The weeks leading up to Christmas were torture for a child. The days seemed to drag on and on until one day it finally came. Then Christmas was over until the next year and we would plan the next event on the calendar.
The older I get, the more and more I appreciate each and every day and the gift it brings. Every day is a new gift from God, just waiting for us to unwrap and enjoy it. The problem comes when we try to do things our way, instead of God’s way.
I have enough projects and things I want to do to last a lifetime. The only thing that has changed is I have learned some things will never happen or projects will never be completed.
Like that catalog wish list, I still have dreams of places to go, things to do, and projects to complete. As much fun as it is to dream, there are times we have to close the book on those wants and focus on the needs. There is nothing wrong with having a bucket list as long as it doesn’t take over your life.
Every morning, I wake up to a new and exciting world. The first thing I do is thank the Lord for a new day and seek guidance how to live that day. Sometimes I have to think twice about the day because our days aren’t the same as the Lord’s. We should never think the Lord will do something in our time and not His. In 2 Peter 3:8 it says, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day”.
If we stop and ponder that it is the Lord’s Day and He has prepared us a new, fresh day, we can live that day to the fullest. In Psalm 118:24 it states, “This is the day which the LORD hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it”. Unlike those days long ago when I went through the wish book, I have something much better when I allow the Lord to direct my path for the day.
Before you begin your day tomorrow, take some time to ponder the gift that keeps on giving.
Debra Whittington is a longtime resident of Tucumcari. Contact her at: