Live each day as if it were your last.

I only have one life! I don't get a dress rehearsal! ~Paul Washer

One of the most important things I have learned over the past year is to live today as if it was my last. The thing that brought me to this conclusion is something I will never forget.

The one year anniversary is fast approaching. My son, Terrell, is 5y/o. One year ago, on September 17, 2009, Terrell was diagnosed with Leukemia. Everything changed. We were outside playing in the tall grass, under the hot sun, looking for grasshoppers(that is one of Terrell's most favorite things to do) and the very next day, we were on our way into the city after being told that he had Leukemia.  I wondered if we would ever hunt for grasshoppers with Terrell again...

This may seem strange but this was not a 'blow to my system'. The Holy Spirit had been working on me about this sort of thing since I was pregnant with Terrell. I would have thoughts come into my mind....fears about what might happen to him. I would always turn those thoughts, immediately, over to God...never contemplating them longer than that. As I had child number two and then child number three, those fears became less and less. I didn't find myself praying less, but more. Those fears were taken care of there so I had nothing to worry about...right? 

That day, I was sitting in the doc's office, waiting to find out the blood results. I had been driving around before this and praying about the things the doc had pointed out in her exam of him. Bulging lymph nodes, enlarged liver and spleen, white as a sheet and not even wanting to open his eyes...just wanting to sleep...begging to sleep. You couldn't explain it away. There was no denying that this was something serious. But in that two hours, the Holy Spirit spoke peace into my heart...I knew, just like all the other times, He would take care of this. I didn't feel panic or dread like I imagined I would if I was faced with something like this. I didn't know what this meant for us but I knew that God did. 

The next few weeks went by in a blur. There is nothing like cancer to overload your senses. They load you up with a ton of information but they don't tell you anything beyond today...if that makes any sense!  They wouldn't even tell us what to expect because, of course, every child is different. 

With cancer, you learn quickly to live in and for today...and only today, because you never know what tomorrow will bring. This has also carried over into other parts of my life. I have contemplated this when it comes to dieting, exercising, cleaning house, laundry, etc, etc, etc,...lol. Let's go with the dieting one. After having Terrell, I lost the weight quickly and was back to 'my old self'. After my second child, it was slower but I also got back to my former size and was back to 'my old self'...but with less exercise, because of hubby working away and two kids to look after. The third pregnancy, hubby was away a lot still, I ate like I was pregnant with an adult and had no exercise or very little. I gained the same amount with all three but after the third one, the weight has not left so quickly. I found myself still eating like I was pregnant months after she was born....always with the thought, 'I'll eat better tomorrow.' I can really apply this to every area of my life...I'll wash clothes tomorrow, I'll clean that up tomorrow...whatever it is, we can always put it off until tomorrow.

This may be the case in most things...but not in all things. What about prayer, Bible reading/study and being alone with God? Is there anyone you have ever known really well without spending time with them? What about committing your life, your every minute of every day, to Jesus Christ? Does it work to put that off until tomorrow? The moral of the story is: You put off your diet until tomorrow? You'll end up overweight and out of shape. You put off your exercise until tomorrow? You will be lazy and out of shape. You put off your household duties until tomorrow? You will have a messy house and  no clean clothes and you will always feel like you are forever playing catch up. You put off your spiritual life and all the things that help keep that spiritual life alive? You will end up in Hell...for eternity. 

For the unbeliever, you may think I have lost my mind...I expect you to think that way. For the believer, if you think I have lost my mind then move yourself into the 'unbeliever' category. Jesus was not kidding when He said He was our 'daily' bread...that 'your life is not your own and was bought with a price.' He was not joking when He died on the cross suffering the wrath of God for your sins and mine. This isn't a joke. 

Will you get up and go to the gym in the morning? Will you eat healthy throughout the day? Will you fight to get your figure back after you have each child? Will you fight back the mess that your kids make and the mountain of laundry? Most will say 'yes' to all of these but will you fight for your 'eternal' life? This life is a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow. Death comes to us all. There is a day when you and I will stand before God...today may be that day. Are you going to keep up your figure and lose your very soul? Are you going to meet all the requirements to fit into the world and forfeit your 'eternal' life? "What does it profit a man or woman to gain the whole world yet lose his or her own soul."

I know this is a serious post and I know that many don't want to read this kind of thing. I hope that what you take away from this is that everyone single one of us only has today...yesterday is gone and tomorrow isn't here and may never be here. What you do today is all that matters. Take today and live it as if it's all you have. You may still exercise and eat properly and set special time aside to spend with your spouse and kids. You may still fight back the mess and the mountain of laundry that tends to overtake a household with kids. But to live as if today you may meet God, this truly makes you focus on what really matters. It certainly has for me.