One Day

“It's always too soon to quit.”

Norman Vincent Peale

“Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much can be done if we are always doing.”


Thomas Jefferson

“Make use of time, let not advantage slip.”

William Shakespeare

One day we will all have to give an accounting for how we’ve used our time, talents and resources.  We will have to give this account to God, our loved ones, and/or ourselves.  When is this day?  It’s today.  It’s now.  This is the one day to look at your life and ask yourself if you’ve done the best you could.  Most of us will have to say no.  Here’s the good news.  The day is coming again – tomorrow.  And the next day.  And the next.  And the next.  But one day will be especially important, because on that day, based on our account, we will be promoted to the next level of position and responsibility.  Or we won’t.

            In Matthew 25:14-30, a man upon returning from a long journey, calls three servants to account how they used the money (called talents in the story) he gave them to run things while he was away.  The first two servants doubled what he gave them.  They were given promotions.  The third, not liking the man, said he buried his talents in the ground.  He was fired (some say literally, interpreting this spiritually). 

There are many things to consider in this story, but here’s the focus today:  one day, on a day I’m not expecting it, someone is going to look at my work and decide I’m ready or not ready to go to the next level.  They might look at how much reading and writing I’ve done.  They might look at the state of my health.   They might look at my financial stability.  They might look at my physical environment.  They might look at the health of my relationships.  They might even look at how clean my car is. 

I don’t know when they’re going to come.  I only know they are.  I might have to work for months or years before my opportunity comes.  Or it might be tomorrow.  All I know is that I want to be ready.  A sense of urgency is required.  I don’t have to be rushed or stressed, but I need to get as much done as I possibly can in the time I have, whatever amount of time that is.

For some reason this feels very motivating.   It’s a deadline without a date.  At any moment, my Muse could show up at the door and say, “Are you ready for me?  are you ready to got the next level?”

Delays in reaching our goals are not obstacles; they are opportunities.  This waiting time is my opportunity.  I want to use it well.  I want to use now well.  This moment is the gift I’ve been given.  I won’t waste it or squander it.

I want to be able to say yes.  So I need, we all need, to Get Started and to Keep Going.  Don’t worry about when it’s going to happen.  Just know that  it will…one day.