“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” — Mother Teresa
When someone asks about my “five year plan,” when I see people that I know and love on Instagram planning out the next 12 months in a family meeting, or when I see girls that have blog posts scheduled 30 weeks out, I begin to break out in hives.
I’ll never be like that.
I’m not a planner. Not like that. Nor am I really a budgeter. And perhaps that’s a problem to some of you. I don’t look at January and say, “Wow! What a blank slate! Let’s plan out the year!”
I simply move gently from December and the holidays into a new month with hope and anticipation that this year will be a little bit better than the year before. I do it quietly, without fanfare, and without a ton of planning.
I guess I’m more of a “today” type of girl.
The problem with January, besides the fact that all public gym facilities are completely swamped, is that we expect so much from the future and, because of the new-slate-ness of the month, we are tricked into thinking that it will be different this time around. We look down the road and see all of the possibilities and then camp there, and only there, sometimes. We choose words to guide our year and we set out to lose weight, eat clean or read the Bible every morning.
And there is nothing wrong with this at all. There just seems to be something missing in the middle of it.
In my teens, one of my friend’s mother was always going to “start her diet on Monday.” I would always think, why not start it now? Why are we waiting until Monday? What is so special about Monday?
There isn’t anything wrong with planning or waiting until a good day to begin a new program, but if the change is something we want to make, let’s begin now. The problem with January is that if we need to make a change, let’s do it today, not wait until a new year flips over every year.
Mother Teresa makes a good point (quoted above): Let’s not wallow in the past or really figure out the future. Today is important and only that. She was really echoing James when he warned about thinking too hard about the far future. He says, “The reality is you have no idea where your life will take you tomorrow. You are like a mist that appears one moment and then vanishes another.”
It really is about today.
It isn’t about yesterday or about the future but about the now.
It is about the people and the love that is put in front of us right now. It is about the justices today that we want to see righted, it is about the problems that we can begin to solve today. It is about the simple, small change we can make in one life, right now. It is about the kind word, the quick note, the forgiveness we can give this minute.
It is about today.
What change will you make today? Are you a planner? What is God putting in front of you today?
Leave a Comment
Emma says
Thank you for writing this- so refreshing to read and I couldn’t agree more.
So often I feel overwhelmed with the lists and organisation tips and trying to be tidier that I forget to just be me, forget to be in today. We must remember that its right now that we can do the best for Jesus! Be it in playing with the kids, talking with a friend, writing a blog post or even leaving a comment online. May God continue to use your words to speak to others in their moment as they did to me.
Sarah Markley says
Thank you Emma!!
Amanda says
This is the post I needed as encouragement for the changes I’m trying to make. I’m a planner and an organiser but often don’t get things done including changes that will benefit my health. Thanks for the timely post! May God bless your ‘todays’ Sarah.
Sarah Markley says
and you as well, Amanda!
Bev Duncan @ Walking Well With God says
Sarah,
I am/was a planner who has mellowed with age. I still get sucked into the future thinking mode a lot. I have been planning my wedding for 8 months now and it’s down to crunch time which means that my anxiety level is heightened. My dog has also started having seizures and her future is uncertain. All that and your lovely post remind me that all I have is today. Tomorrow is not certain and though I can make plans, I need to live intentionally in today. I may have to read your post several times in order to live my life one day, or even one hour at a time, if I need to.
Thanks for a much needed and well timed post!
Blessings,
Bev
Sarah Markley says
congratulations on your upcoming wedding, Bev! and yes, live in today!! =)
Kimberly says
I want to be one of those people too, the ones who accomplish so much with their planners and such. But I’m not, and you’ve given me permission to rest in that–to rest in today. I hope beautiful and surprising things are around the corner for you this year.
Sarah Markley says
thank you so much Kimberly!! =)
shelly says
Dear Sarah,
Thank you so much for this post. The New Year will bring me many new things. I will turn 50 years old, and my divorce will be final. Not two things I ever thought would happen in the same year!
Hanging on to just today, not panicking about what comes next, trusting that God has a plan, deciding to be my best person right in this very moment, no matter the next, living as well as I can each day. All these are getting me through this time.
Thank you for the reminder that today is indeed all I have and all I need focus on.
Sarah Markley says
i’m so sorry, shelly. praying and hoping for you that this year is full of goodness, grace and hope.
Terri Cermignano says
Good morning, Girls,
I thought I was the only one up shopping at this hour.
It is so encouraging to read your beautiful thoughts and inspiring words. In my younger days I was a planner, had all the calendars, planners, etc. Now, I just say to Jesus:” Lord, let’s load the wagon even though the mule is blind”. In other words, I live my life just going on faith. My life right now has thrown a few obstacles at me. I lost my job 3 years ago and had to leave my home. Depression hit me after losing my job since I worked there 31 years and was fired unfairly with no warning and no severance. I was so hurt.. Panic attacks came on, it was horrible. I have very bad fibromyalgia. And, I’m a caregiver for my 90 year old Mother who has dementia,
I am just starting to send my Christmas cards and gifts- buying them here. As long as I get them done by Ash Wednesday I’ll feel ahead of the game. I now believe in living right now, appreciating the moments that God gives us now. I’m grateful for every opportunity God gives me to enjoy my life with my Mom, though she is an invalid and can no longer speak. The Book of Sirach tells us to take care of our parents when they become senile and old and we will be heard when we pray. What beautiful words. I feel honored that the Lord felt that I could do more for my Mom than I could do any longer at my job, but it is so hard financially. With a life like this, I can’t make plans. I just take each minute as it comes and pray that I’ll be able to deal with it. Reading all of your posts has inspired and energized me and I so appreciate it.
Thank you for listening to the story of my pathetic life. I could not live without my faith or my best friend, Jesus.
His Peace and Blessings to all of you.
Terri
Sarah Markley says
thank you so much for sharing so vulnerably. praying peace and strength for you in this upcoming year. =)
Yvonne Templeton says
Thank you so much for your beautiful post today. I couldn’t agree with you more. In my past jobs, planning and organizing had always been one of my biggest assets. Making lists and checking them twice was always what I did. However, since I have retired, I try to live one day at a time and ask the Lord for His direction for the day. I find I am not as stressed and look forward to whatever the Lord has for me in “the moment”. Also, as a pastor’s wife, I end up changing whatever it is I had planned in the first place. I have learned to be flexible and open to His leading in all things.
Sarah Markley says
thank you yvonne! yes, it’s about being flexible!! =)
Cherise says
This is exactly the thing that Jesus has been telling me this January! Thank you for putting it so beautifully.
Sarah Markley says
thank you cherise!!
karyn says
Not really. I follow the lead of the Holy Spirit and whatever the LORD says, happens.
I’m a today person as well. Just some things. Hope.
JESUS just wants me to love HIM today and everyday forevermore cos HE LOVES me so.
🙂
Sarah Markley says
yes for Today Girls!! =)
Marilyn says
Thank you!!! I feel less alone everyday since I have been receiving (in) Courage emails.
Sarah Markley says
oh i’m so glad marilyn! you are not alone!
Calista says
Yes! I, too, am an advocate for living today. It’s not that I don’t make a plan. I do.There are things I want to accomplish and I plan for those. But I am not attached to my plan. My plans are often railroaded by unforeseen circumstances that need immediate attention, therefore the daily plan is redirected for the moment.
The over-all plan never changes. Love and serve God, my family, my church, my neighbors.
(Okay, I’m done writing the word “plan” now. You can thank me later. 😉 )
Sarah Markley says
ha!! i love it!! =)
Erika says
I adore this. I’ve never been one to make resolutions because I think change needs to happen more organically than that.
Sarah Markley says
i wholeheartedly agree Erika!!
jsm says
so true, I can relate, thank you very much for this post – jsm
Sarah Markley says
thank you!! =)
Kathy @ In Quiet Places says
For me the winter month of January finds me swinging like a pendulum between extreme motivation and long lists of plans to little motivation and clueless to how to move forward. I am praying for balance and direction!
Sarah Markley says
oh yeah. that is a great way to put it!! =)
M says
Thank you SO much for this!! My husband and I have tried sitting down to plan out the next five years…and wow, it sort of stressed us out. He is a go with the flow type person. I love planning, but too much planning is just extremely overwhelming for me. This morning I found myself asking the Lord to just help my husband and I breathe better this year…we have been through a lot of beauty and a lot of pain the past few years. I know learning to breathe and rest in God is not about circumstances and how well we plan- it is a heart change, a daily submission to my loving, Heavenly Father. Thank you for the reminder.
Sarah Markley says
yes. YES!!!
Christina says
Thanks Sarah, I so relate to this. Here is another great post by Tullian Tchividjian with much of the same sentiment: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tullian/2014/01/01/on-to-the-next-one-2/
Sarah Markley says
thanks Christina! i’ll have to check it out!!
Sarah says
I think I tend to move seamlessly from one to the other too. I have things I’d like to do this year, and I like to write ideas down when they come, but I don’t plan for the sake of it. When people ask have I got goals for the year I don’t really know what to say.
Sarah Markley says
me too!!
Beth Coulton says
I am not a planner, have no idea how much is in my bank account on any given day, and I prefer to bury my head in the sand when I have to face details such as the staggering amounts of my children’s student loans or taking precise measurements for a project. But I AM a New Year’s lover! I love the blank slate it brings. I, too, pondered this year why we make such a HUGE deal about the turn of really only another month; but in actuality, the promise of 365 untouched days does something to the human soul, mind and spirit. I strive not so much to make changes (to myself or anyone else) because i realize that’s better left to the Professional. But I DO always make a list of things I want to now include in my every day for the coming year – disciplines, habits, etc. This year I added 5 things that I want to make sure I accomplish each day. None of them difficult or lengthy, but all of them important to me. I did this mainly because on January 2, I started a new job that is actually giving me back TIME, and after praying for a year and a half for a new job, I figured if God was going to give me a job that allowed me more hours of free time, I was going to make that time well spent giving it right back to Him and to me, by doing things that are true to the way He shaped me.
Live in the moment, love the moment – that’s the way to do this life!
June says
Yes! I appreciate these words truly. I try not to be overwhelmed by everyone’s words, goals, resolutions, not to mention everyone’s year in review. I just have to skip most blog posts the week after Christmas. I don’t like feeling like I’m already behind as soon as the clock rolls over to midnight on New Years Eve. So glad I didn’t skip this one.
Beverley says
I don’t think there is anything wrong with having plans but when a six year old in Sunday school class tells me the date of her birthday party, it’s in June, it makes me wonder are just a little too busy.
Sabra Penley says
Sarah, your words echo what God has been teaching me over the past year–today is what matters–living in the present, because that is all we know we have. Waiting for tomorrow will usually bring regret when today becomes yesterday. Thanks for the reminder!
KatStevens says
I saw the title of this in my inbox & decided to read it (as I haven’t read a blog post in awhile). I absolutely loved it! I didn’t realize until the end that you were the one who wrote it, & that made me love it even more. I have always been more of a “fly by the seat of my pants” girl than a planner. I’ve learned to plan more for the sake of my family, but there is such a beauty in just living in today. I absolutely love the quote from Mother Teresa & the words you wrote from James. How poetic! I’m pretty sure in another life you & I would be close friends. Bless you Sarah for your faithfulness in following your destiny & blessing us all in return.
Kiki says
Dear Sarah
It seems your post hit a soft spot with many readers… I too started only late in life NOT to make big plans, mainly because I realised at some point that the making of lists doesn’t ‘make it happen’ (although it’s SO refreshing to tick something off, isn’t it?) NOW, I don’t even think of making New Year’s wishes/resolutions; I just let things happen.
I confess that I haven’t even sent out ALL my Seasons’ Greetings (can’t say Christmas wishes now, can I?) but I stopped feeling bad about it. I write some 120-150 individual cards and everyone is directed to the person who gets it. Nobody can tell me that with everything we have daily to manage, I needed to find the necessary time and depths of feelings to write those cards by the dozen. And nobody complained getting my greetings and ‘I’m thinking of you’ cards in the middle or up to the end of January…. I also like to point out to my friends near and far that – although the past year wasn’t our best – it could have been infinitely worse, and that I’m deeply happy and thankful, quite serene and that I can look into each New Day with the (relatively) clear eyes of a child.
You write beautifully and heart-felt and we can feel that too. Thank you Sarah
I wish you a happy, God-guided New Year.
Kiki in France
Naomi says
I’m a list person, I adore new pages in my journal and I am thrilled with the two new ones I got for Christmas 🙂
But I am way to impulsive to wait for Monday or for January to start new plans and resolutions 🙂 My problem is mostly looking to the future and being all excited about plans and prospects that I just forget to live in today!
I so love that Mother Teresa quote! Going on the blackboard today 🙂
Maggie says
I truly enjoyed your post. I’ve had this same thought for years. It’s a little silly to see how excited people become about January 1st. Most people have failed witih at least one thing they resolved to do or not do by January 2nd.
God tells us not to worry about the future. We should be focused on the current moment. Each morning we wake up is January 1st. That new year feeling should be felt everyday. God has a purpose for our days. His agenda is the only one that will be successful for the days, weeks, months, and years to come.
I look forward to each morning.. I know at the end of the day, if I have walked faithfully with my Lord and Savoir, I will have had a fulfilling day with checked boxes on the things he had planned.
Nicole says
Good morning. Thank you for your openess to share from your heart. Your words are simple yet soul-stiring!!! Today….right now as I write this my Dad is having a biopsy to determine if he has cancer. A week ago I knew nothing was wrong. One day at a time, Lord Jesus….His strength to carry us through it all. Praying for healing….believing in His Grace and that ALL things are possible. Thank you for encouraging me this am…
Beth WIlliams says
Nicole,
Prayers for your dad. May God touch your family and your dad. Prayers for peace and comfort no matter the outcome! God is on the throne and He can heal your dad!
Blessings 🙂
Harmony says
I couldn’t agree more!
Kelley J Leigh says
Thanks for this inspiration to live in present tense.
Happy New Year, Sarah.
Jessica W says
I love this Sarah! Now, as a stay-at-home mom, I’m not nearly as much of a planner as I thought I’d be when I was working in the corporate world. It’s shocked me a bit but it’s also very freeing. I’m learning to find the balance between looking ahead with loose plans and strategy while living today fully. Thanks for this. So glad to know I’m not alone! : )
Tonya says
Thanks for this post! It encouraged me! Happy January and everyday!
Debbie says
So thankful for you, Sarah, and for your words of encouragement today. I’m not much of a planner either! God bless all that He brings to you each moment and you embrace and give thanks for.
Beth WIlliams says
I am a list maker/planner to a small extent. I like to look ahead and see when/if and what can get done. I also realize that plans should be made with the aspect of change surrounding them. Life is not certain. The only certain thing is that God has given us today–right now & we must live in it & be super intentional.
This year one big plan I have is to be more intentional with people & about loving my God wholeheartedly!
Blessings! 🙂
Nancy Ruegg says
Thank you, Sarah, for the reminder to live in today, not yesterday or tomorrow.
What did God put in front of me today? The same goal as every day: Do my best, with his help, to be a blessing and encourager to those around me. I don’t need a planner for this goal! And what a joy to lift the spirits of others and sometimes pray for them–right then and there.
Lisa Wright says
Thank you for sharing your God-given wisdom!