New Every Morning

Why worry? Why get anxious about future events? My philosophy is that if it’s something you can control, take care of it. If not, worrying will not change the circumstance; it will only add to your stress level.

However, that philosophy doesn’t mean I’m never anxious. My anxiety comes from the “would’ve, could’ve, should’ve” syndrome – wishing I had sent the get well card, knowing I could have asked a friend what was bothering her, or thinking I should not have butt into that conversation.

I’ve joined a group of women who are handwriting selected Bible passages. This morning’s reading of Lamentations 3:19-32 – expressing thoughts of Jeremiah in the midst of his misery – included this familiar verse (23):

“The LORD’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness.”

This morning, as I woke up earlier than I wanted to, slightly melancholy over an undefined sense of failure yesterday, I read this verse with new meaning: Since God refreshes his compassions every morning, shouldn’t we also view each morning with a similar sense of refreshing?

Yesterday is behind us. Whatever control we had over what happened yesterday is gone. Yesterday is history.

Because today is a new day, we don’t carry over any regrets or failures. Because today is a new day, we don’t remember hurts or slights – whether real or perceived. Because today is a new day, we don’t congratulate ourselves for yesterday’s successes. Today has its own opportunities to serve or to grow.

Since God Himself begins every day with a new batch of compassion for His creatures, that gives us new hope every morning. Verse 24 speaks of such hope:

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul. “Therefore I have hope in Him.”

In his letter to the Philippians (3:13-14), Paul also reminds us of our constant new beginnings:

“…one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Here we go again!

In February I started blogging my daily bible readings in a Blog I’ve entitled Word Walk. However, I am finding that even though I intend to continue that blog, it has become more note taking than writing.

I need the discipline of writing in my life  –  the same kind of deadline I had for about three years when I provided a “Moment’s Meditation” column in the small paper entitled “The Delta Point” in Greenville, Mississippi.

So, in an effort to keep my creative writing juices going, not to mention my contemplative and introspective mind, and also to give me some personal experience in blogging using a blog enabler that is at least a step up from blogspot, I determined to incorporate new Moment’s Meditations articles into a new blog.

My intention is to give myself a weekly assignment, publishing a new article each Tuesday. I am excited about the prospect of creating for myself a forum for the notes I’m constantly writing to myself for some “future” purpose. Why not make the future now?