One Day at a Time
Listen: “One Day at a Time” by Merle Haggard
I’m a visionary thinker. It’s always been one of my strengths when it comes to leadership. Three to five year plans came easy for me. I felt like God had given me a vision; I developed strategic plans to accomplish that vision; and I had the determination to develop a team and execute the plan. You always had to break a three to five year plan into manageable, actionable parts. You eventually worked it back to a daily plan. What do I need to do today in order to accomplish the visionary, strategic plan?
Since my three-quarter life crisis, long-term plans have been challenging. I am not pastoring a church, but I am trying to follow God’s leadership through my heart as I start Spirituality Adventures. Sometimes it feels like very small steps. Sometimes it feels like two steps forward and three steps backwards. Sometimes it’s simply—One Day at a Time.
One Day at a Time can feel very frustrating to me. Especially on the days when I feel like I make zero progress or like the vision is vanishing. I like progress and momentum. I like it when I feel like I am accomplishing short-term and long-term goals. (There are some great examples of faith-based goal setting in the Bible, like Nehemiah.)
However, I am learning that there are times when One Day at a Time is good enough or maybe even preferred. In fact, I am learning to be present in the moment and be grateful. (Truly learning. I suck at this!) Several faith traditions emphasize the importance of One Day at a Time.
Take for example, the Exodus story in the Hebrew Bible. After Israel crossed the Red Sea and began their journey in the wilderness, God supernaturally provided bread from heaven for them to eat. “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food [bread] as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions” (Exodus 16:4; NLT). Notice they could only collect food (bread) “for that day.” If they tried to store up for the next day, the bread would spoil. Why? The passage says it was a test from God. Would they trust in God’s provision daily? Would they follow his instructions daily? Evidently, they needed to learn to receive each day with fresh faith. Each day is a gift to be received—a provision for which to be grateful—One Day at a Time.
Jesus also taught the importance of living One Day at a Time. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught people to practice the art of receiving each day as a gracious gift while avoiding the pitfalls of anxiety over material possessions. Jesus taught: “Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your Heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries” (Matthew 6:25-27, 34; NLT).
One Day at a Time is a bedrock principle in Alcoholics Anonymous. The first AA group was started in Akron, Ohio. Bill W and Dr. Bob were meeting with Bill D in the hospital in 1935 (the three founders of the first AA group). Bill D couldn’t imagine going the rest of his life without a drink. According to Bill D: “The next question they asked was, ‘You can quit twenty-four hours, can’t you?’ I said, ‘Sure, yes, anybody can do that, for twenty-four hours.’ They said, ‘That’s what we’re talking about. Just twenty-four hours at a time’” (Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 188). The camel has become a symbol for AA members because the camel can go twenty-four hours without a drink. Sobriety is achieved One Day at a Time. Can you make it one day? Can you find the strength, support, and provision you need to get through one day without using? Life can be so challenging, and we feel like we are going to fall apart. Sometimes its even one moment at a time.
My mind is always racing—racing about the past and the future. Sometimes my mind is full of hopes and dreams, and sometimes its full of anxiety and doubt. (Yes, I have always struggled with anxiety. Sometimes my prayers are anxious prayers. Ugh.) While I was in rehab, I was introduced to mindfulness meditation. It’s a little different than the meditation I had practiced for years. I had always practiced meditation by focusing on a phrase or passage of scripture, mulling it over in my mind, and thinking about how to apply it to my life. Good stuff. But mindfulness meditation was different. It focused on the moment and learning to calm my anxious thoughts. What is my breath doing? What is my body saying to me? What am I feeling? What’s going on in my immediate surroundings? Why is my mind racing? Of what am I afraid? Can I calm myself? Can I surrender to the moment and receive it as a gift? With all my fears and sadness, hopes and dreams, can I simply breath and be grateful? For this moment? For the gift of life—in this moment, as it is? Without trying to change it or manipulate it? In the Genesis story of creation, humanity is shaped from dust, but humanity comes to life when God breathes into the nostrils. Dust and breath. Grateful—for breath! For this moment. Try it. Breath.
Shalom
©realfredherron, 2021
