How to Make This Day Count
One of the things I tried to do during my first husband’s declining months was set aside projects—which isn’t natural for this project-oriented girl—and simply be present for him. Reading companionably together. Playing Words with Friends. Trying new recipes to entice him to eat.
But how many days of those 41 years of marriage—before the terminal cancer diagnosis—slid past unnoticed as we lived them?
Photo by Lina Trochez on Unsplash
The thing is, we don’t need a terminal cancer diagnosis to decide that every day is a priceless gift.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said it this way:
“One of the illusions of life is that the present hour is not the critical decisive hour. Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year.”
With that in mind, here are some fun, simple suggestions to help make our days matter:
Write a letter to someone expressing your love and/or appreciation. You know, on paper. With ink. I got a letter in the mail not too long ago and I can’t say how much it meant to me—that this friend would take the time to write and then place an address and stamp on an envelope. Who does that anymore?!
Call someone you’ve been thinking about. Your college roommate, your favorite aunt or niece, a previous Sunday School teacher. It will make their day to hear from you.
Bake something delicious and deliver it to someone who needs a smile, an encouraging word, and a cookie or two.
Volunteer at the library or the hospital, at your church’s youth group fundraising event, or through the SMART reading program.
Write a poem. Take pad and pen outdoors—preferably near the sound of water, or birds chirping, or wind rustling the leaves in the tall trees—and get poetic as you think about the people and the things you would miss if they were taken from you suddenly.
Plan an adventure and invite someone along—a road trip, a hike along the river, a trip to the local coffee shop. Because there are no guarantees that the person you invite along will be here next month or next year. No guarantees.
Pay for coffee for the person behind you at the drive-through window. I’ve heard criticism of this practice—that someone going through a coffee shop drive-through window doesn’t ‘need’ you to spend money on them. But that’s not the point. The point is, that person might need this unexpected act of kindness to remind them to look up with more hope in their hearts. And you can’t put a price tag on that.
Befriend someone new to your area. Invite your new friend over for a cup of tea and a slice of banana bread.
Sit with a hospice or Alzheimer’s patient while their caregiver gets out of the house to keep a medical appointment, purchase groceries, or simply read on a park bench.
Give a single mom a break. Do something fun with her children for a couple hours. Bonus points if you schedule a massage for her while you have her children. Speaking from experience, she will never forget this kind act.
That ‘experience’ happened while my daughter Summer and son-in-law Josh were in Uganda for six weeks preparing to bring three young brothers back to America.
I was the responsible (single) adult in charge of the three biological kiddos. I didn’t want to be the responsible adult. I wanted to be the fun grandma.
Sometime toward the end of those weeks, friends of Josh and Summer’s kidnapped my three grandkids for an afternoon of bowling and burgers. And—you’re not going to believe this—they made a massage appointment for me during that time. Is that amazing or what?!
True ministry
The Apostle Paul writes this in a letter to believers in ancient Galatia:
“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” – Galatians 6:10, NIV
To all people. Especially to your family of believers. But also, to all people.
Author Gretchen Saffles had this to say about making our days count:
“True ministry isn’t done on a platform or on a stage in front of a crowd. It’s done in your home. ... It’s done when you pause to talk to a stranger and share the love of Christ. It is done when you lay down your desire to be praised, and you fold the laundry out of love for God. True ministry is faithfulness in the little things with a heart focused squarely on Christ Jesus, who modeled a life of ministry and faithfulness himself.”
What can you do to make this day count? What’s keeping you from doing it?
