Gift of today too precious to waste on 'someday'

This past Memorial Day I ran my first 5K. When I woke up that morning, all I wanted to do was go back to bed. But I was already committed to the race, so up I went.

There are times when God reminds me of something profound in unique ways. When the race was over I read the back of a T-shirt another runner was wearing. It simply said, "Someday is not a plan."

Someday never seems to get here but always arrives faster than we know. Then all of a sudden somedays become "I wish would have" days.

In the book of Nehemiah we meet a group of men and women who after sacrificing to rebuild their city wall come face-to-face with the reality that they were claiming to be God's people but nothing about their lives echoed that claim. They firmly plant themselves with an idea that "there will be no more someday's." The people unite together and publicly proclaim that they will "walk in God's Law ... to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord."

Before launching out into what could be an never ending list of all the possible things that could be done in order to never have another someday, they lay a foundation of what their days will be built on. They will walk, observe and do the commandments of the Lord.

To walk is to take decisive action of moving in a direction. In other words it is to say this is the direction we are going, forsaking all other ways. Selecting a focused direction is the hardest step of eliminating "somedays."

To observe is to guard. It is to protect what is most important. What keeps somedays at bay is a daily reminder of what is most important. Guarding daily what God says.

To do is to make it, to fashion, to form. Someday bears no weight on the decisions to live today. These people chose to live as God instructed even when it was not convenient. They were going to do God's law because they were his people.

God's gift of today is too precious to waste on "someday."

What about the race? I ran the best time ever. Two minutes faster than my goal. It's a good thing I didn't lay in bed and think "someday, I'll run that race."

Rob Hurtgen is a husband, father, minister and writer. Read more from him at www.robhurtgen.wordpress.com.