Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I woke up the way I always do…filled with Gratitude for another day to Serve the Author and Perfector of my Faith. Living is one thing…living with Purpose is an entirely different story altogether, so I have Purpose in mind this morning. The Fall season has officially set in, and every day looks different from the one before, as nature heads toward winter. As I sat there looking at the sun illuminating the color of this old oak tree, the tree reminded me of my Life. The old oak may be a few hundred years older than I am, but we have a lot in common. We’re both standing tall and strong after many years of being upright, and we both have very deep roots. We’re both changing as the season comes to an end, and neither one of us knows precisely when we’ll succumb. We’ve both been through the storms and lived to “tell about it,” and neither of us gave in under pressure. We’re both pretty colorful when the Time is right, and we both have grown where we were planted by the hand of God. We’ve both endured, no matter how hard the wind blew year after year. We’ve both shed some branches when it was time to let them go, and we’ve both gotten stronger because of it. We both show some wear and tear from the journey, but we just keep getting more beautiful over time. I’m pretty sure the old oak won’t cry when I lose my journey on this earth, but I’m sure I’ll cry for the old oak if it surrenders its life before I do. This beautiful old tree made me think about Life and how each one of our days is different than the last as we head toward the “winter” too. Yesterday becomes a memory, and tomorrow becomes a dream. Today is all we really have to work with and our greatest opportunity to Live, to Serve, to Share, and to Love. Isn’t that the way you look at the new day, too?

We could all learn from the old oak tree that focuses on nothing more than digging deeper roots and reaching for the Son day after day. Unfortunately, it seems to be so easy for people to live in the past or in the future while they squander away TODAY. Some are “stuck” in the past, while others are so focused on the future that they forget about the blessings of NOW. When you think about it, today really IS like “the first day of the rest of your life,” and today is all we have any control over whatsoever. We can’t change what we did or didn’t do yesterday, and since tomorrow is promised to no one, all the things we dream of for tomorrow should be focused on today. If there is any Unfinished Business, like asking for forgiveness or making our peace, leftover from yesterday, today is the day to make it right. If there is an unspoken “I love you” or a word of encouragement that could change the course of another, today is the day to speak it. If there is anyone in our world who has never heard the Good News of Jesus Christ, today is the day to Share it. If there is anything within us that holds us back from all the things the Living God has for us, today is the day to move forward in His Name. There’s no end to the things that should be reconciled on a new day, and there is seemingly no end to the putting off. Yesterday is only a memory now, and tomorrow is only a dream. Living TODAY is the Key to an Abundant Life in all the ways that matter.

Some people have a “near-death” experience that puts things in perspective for them…at least for a little while. But every day is a near-death day for all of us because tomorrow is promised to no one, AND YET, we have so little regard for the frailty of life that we’ll put off the important things as if we have all the time in the world. When you look at it that way, how can any of us dare to squander even one day? There is a past that needs to stay in the past and a future to dream about. The Bible says “Without a vision the people perish” and that “hope deferred makes the heart sick”, so, looking forward with longing is a good thing for the Heart and Soul. It’s when we linger in thoughts of tomorrow while squandering away today that we stand the chance of NOT living long enough to see what the Heart has been longing for all along. Yesterday is a memory, and tomorrow is only a dream. Living TODAY is the Key to living Life to the fullest in all the ways that matter.

I’ve been on top of the mountain and deep in the valley and every place in between…but my past is now in the past where it belongs. The only piece of the past that has any Value for today is the Wisdom I gained in the Process. The “bad” has been Forgiven, and the Trials have become my Testimony, which is Shared with the world today with Purpose. I have Dreams for my future, and I take steps to fulfill them every day, BUT my future isn’t here yet, so I Focus on Today just like the old oak tree does. Today will be the most spectacular day in the history of me, and I’ll continue to be like the old oak tree – standing tall and with roots that grow deeper every day.

This day will be filled with Gratitude and countless surprises straight from the Throne of a Mighty God. The past has become but a memory, and the future is only a dream, but I have TODAY to do Good in His Name, and I can’t imagine a better way to spend any day Allotted to me.

How about you?