One Day at a Time

I remember the story of the woman who wanted to go back to school for her medical degree. Writing to an advice column, she complained that it would take about 12 years to accomplish her goal. She said, “Well, if I go back to medical school now, I’ll be 43 in 12 years!” The columnist’s response was, “Well, how old will you be in 12 years if you DON’T go back to medical school?” The truth is, you have the rest of your life to make any change you want.

Many of us have identified areas in our life that we would like to improve or change altogether. But when it comes to doing something new, we often get overwhelmed with wondering, “How long will this take?” By introducing a new thing, on a day-by-day basis, we can do more than we ever imagined.

Take, for example, first-time authors. By committing themselves to writing one page a day, they can eventually get to the point where the writing flows naturally and in no time, they’re penning several chapters at a time. An old Christian song comes to mind that says:

One day at a time, sweet Jesus
That's all I'm asking from You.
Just give me the strength
To do everyday what I have to do.

Of course, tomorrow is never promised to us. But that shouldn’t prevent us from trying to better ourselves each day. Take it one day at a time, and Lord willing, you’ll reach your goal.