As the sun’s golden rays rise on today, the soft morning light offers freshness that breathes new life into my soul. Today is special. It is special because, “Today is a first [that] has never been before, and it is last because it will never be again.” That’s the way Fredrick Buechner describes it and I think he has it right. Today is special for me because God has blessed me to play a small part in it.

Today will bring newness into my life. I will hear words I have not heard before. I will say something I have not said before; and something I say will be heard differently than it has been heard before. Today will bring someone I have never seen; and it will bring some familiar faces that will seem different than I have ever seen them.

Today always promises to bring something new. Often the new things are filled with joy, prosperity, creativity, or renewed hope. Sometimes the new things are fraught with trouble, pain, failure, or despair. And within all of the newness, there is a reason for me to be a part of it. That’s why God blessed me with today.

He gave me today to care for our home, to tend to its preservation and beauty. He gave me today to care for my family and to love them more then they have ever felt. He gave me today to smile at someone I have never seen and may never see again as they pass by in some public place. Today offers opportunities for small acts of kindness, to hold the door for a young mother whose arms are filled with children, or an elderly stranger in need of physical assistance. God gave me today so the loving glow of Jesus might beam into the small part of the world I live in even if it is in a way that draws little notice. He gave me today to live for him, though today will not tarry for long.

Dusk will soon fall and the golden rays that gave it birth will prepare today for a new name that will linger among the yesterdays in the annals of time. What is today has never been before and it will never be again. It is a very special day. The seeds of life planted today will flourish and blanket some part of the landscape of a today that is yet to be. And though the source of it may never be known, someone may pass along the smile they received from a stranger, or extend a helping hand to another just as someone once extended to them. Home will be a bit stronger because of the care given it. And if God’s plan for me is fulfilled, the love of Jesus will shine like the moon and stars onto the family I love and into the lives of those God placed along the path I traveled today.

And that makes today so very special. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

 

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