The Daily Treasure

Affirmation:  This is the day the Lord has made, let me rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 119:24

When my husband, Sandy, speaks he reminds his audience that this day is a “once in a lifetime opportunity.”  Certainly I am aware of that but truth to tell, for me, it is a meditation.  I need to remind myself continually that all there is, is this present moment and that this is the only time I will have this day.  And then I heard it phrased another way. 

A woman I know was telling a story about trying to get ready for her bible study.  She was running late and her husband kept reminding her that she was going to be late.  He was concerned.  She said she finally said: “Honey, this is the only October 20^th, 20(  ) I will ever have in my life, ever!  You’re right, I am going to be late.”

When I woke the next day, I started my day with prayer and journaling, as I normally do.  At the top of my journal I always put the date.  That was the first day I fully wrote out the date.  Up until this time, I simply put the numbers but I didn’t do that.  I wrote it out and I repeated to myself: “This is the only October 21^st, 20(  ) I will ever have in my life.”  And then, I thought about my day, this “once in a lifetime opportunity.”  What did I want it to be like?  What did I want it to include, exclude?  How did I want to respond to it?  What was so important to me that I didn’t want to miss it?  I felt that by naming the day I was responding to it differently than I normally would.  It became more valuable.  I also found that every time I saw or wrote the date, I was reminded of its value.

We do value things that are rare, don’t we?  We place a greater value on rare works of art, antiquities and other treasures.  Well, this is a treasure rarer than anything we can put a price on.  It’s our life, our existence, our opportunity.  I’m sure that was what the psalmist was saying when he wrote “This is the day the Lord has made, let me rejoice and be glad in it.”  I just needed it phrased a little different to fully appreciate what I’d already been affirming for many years.