Every one of us can be found guilty at one time or another of wanting to put things off until — tomorrow.
Some do so because they feel that their proverbial plate is already overflowing with the remnants of tasks from yesterday combined with the pressing tasks of today. To add just one more thing to their plate could become both daunting and overwhelming.
Still others do so because they feel that the longer they can push a matter into the future, the more time they will have to better prepare themselves to face the reality of situations that they would otherwise prefer to avoid, but know must eventually be addressed. They feel that if they have just a little more time to get their thoughts and action plans together those particular situations will be so much easier to deal with. And then, there are those who hope that with the passing of time, some situations will simply disappear and never have to be dealt with.
And so, for whatever reason, “tomorrow” can become the dearest and best friend of most of us at any given time. And like little orphan Annie, we merrily sing, “Tomorrow, tomorrow! I’ll love you tomorrow! You’re only a day away.”
But, have we ever noticed that each day that the Lord awakens us from our slumbers; we arise to a new day which is called — today? What happened to the tomorrow of which we spoke yesterday? Why is it that at the start of a new day, we are never greeted with, “Good morning and welcome to tomorrow”?
Where is this tomorrow that we so often and casually speak of in conversation? How do we get there? Has it already come and gone, silently passing as a ship in the night as we lay resting in our beds dreaming of it without ever noticing its presence? If that be the case, where has it gone and why does it seem to run silent as though it were trying not to disturb us or perhaps evade us altogether? Is it quite possible that in all reality tomorrow never comes? Could it be possible that our lives are only filled with the memories of yesterdays and the fleeting moments of today, and that tomorrows are merely figurative and not real?
The reality of the matter is that tomorrow does come, for it is here, even at this time. Think about that for a moment if you will. This very day is the tomorrow of which we spoke yesterday, and the tomorrow of which we speak today, will become a brand new day, should the Lord allow, which will once again be called — today.
What lessons can we learn from all this? We have our many yesterdays upon which we can reflect and glean the harvest of life lessons and blessings from its already ripened fields. We have been given today to plant new seeds which we will water and nurture over time. The “tomorrows” of which we speak become the times of harvest of life lessons and blessings which we reap from our toils and labors of yesterdays and today. When all is said and done, at the end of the day, as the sun begins to set, we will have indeed tasted of the fruits of tomorrow, for this day in which the Lord has given is in reality yesterday’s tomorrow.
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” – Matthew 6:34; 3 Nephi 13:34
