Last week I did something I have never done before. I made a paper chain to serve as a countdown. Each link in the chain represents a day, in this case, a day standing between me and my anticipated departure for Jerusalem next August. As each day passes, I tear a link off of the chain, marking my progress toward said goal.
For a while I had been thinking about making such a chain, but I hesitated because I didn't want it to become a way of wishing the days away. The last thing I want is to be looking forward to the future so much that I am missing out on the present.
After some thought, however, I decided to go ahead and make the chain, using it as a sort of experiment. On each link I printed the day of the week and the date (i.e. today's link reads "Thursday, October 28, 2010"). Instead of tearing off the link at the end of the day, I have decided to carefully remove it in the morning, and carry it with me throughout the day.
This little piece of paper with today's date on it serves as a powerful reminder that today is all I have. There is no guarantee of tomorrow. All that I have today is "Thursday, October 28, 2010." Each time I see that little slip of paper I ask myself, "What are you doing with today?"
In the mornings, when I take the day's link off of the chain, I take a moment to pray over the day. I surrender each one to God, asking Him for the strength and the wisdom necessary to make the most of the time I have been given, and praying that He might be glorified through my use of it.
Sure, I could make all the plans for going to Jerusalem that I want. I could look forward to the day I finally arrive there. But that day is not mine yet. It may never be. The only day I can really do anything about is this one. The question remains, "What am I doing with today?"
Last night, as I was throwing away "Wednesday, October 27, 2010," I was struck by the powerful symbolism. At the end of the day, that was it. Its time was done. Nothing more could be accomplished with that day once it was passed. Looking at the piece of paper in my trash I had to ask, "What did I do with today? Did I do anything that will last?"
My paper chain experiment has just begun. I hope that it might challenge me to be a better steward of my time, to seize every moment and refuse to let time simply pass me by. My prayer is that God might use this experiment to accomplish much in and through my life between now and my adventure in the Holy Land. May I look back on this year satisfied by the way I spent the links in my chain.Labels: prayer, reflections