Carrying two days
I have a love/hate relationship with our domestic squirrel residents. While they’re fun to watch, especially when our dog chases them at breakneck speed, asserting her dominance in the yard, I hate their destructive persistence on our potted plants, garage door, and bird feeders. I growl and grin at the same time, still having respect for their antics high overhead.
I was in the backyard the other day when I heard a thud, kind of like a bean bag hitting the ground. When I looked around, I saw a squirrel lying spread eagle, motionless underneath our great oak tree in the middle of the yard. It must have missed a branch and fallen to the ground. In the time it took me to walk over, it had regained its composure and darted back up the tree to the heights. “That’s amazing,” I thought. Just knocked the wind out of him, I guess, because he quickly began leaping for the high branches following an unseen highway in the trees. Lurching from one perch to another, he showed no fear of falling again. I watched in wonder.
Makes me mindful of a friend who is facing significant personal pain and limitations. If anyone has room for complaint, it would be him. When asked, “How ya doing?” he answers, “I think I’m living well, above the circumstances.” Makes you smile when you hear it. Others might say “Well, under the circumstances, I guess I’m doing okay,” but he says “above the circumstances” and that catches my ear. Yes, working “above” rather than “under” life’s circumstances sounds very Kingdom-focused, doesn’t it? He’s orienting himself to the high branches of life, with no fear of falling. His confidence is tethered to a higher reality, and he lives in the present awareness of it every day. That’s what being Kingdom-minded does.
So, I ask myself, why do prayers so often seem to be motivated by worry and fear? That kind of motivation feels heavy, drained of life and hope, and Jesus addressed such motivation head on. He invites us to live in present reality. He says, don’t worry about your life, possessions, or provision. (Matt. 6) Look at the birds of the air, the lilies or grass of the field, they do nothing for themselves, yet my Father provides everything for them…
Essentially, don’t worry when looking towards tomorrow, keep things in perspective, let tomorrow worry about itself, because we have a Father who knows what we need and He is a very present help to us. Experience God now, today, and experience Him tomorrow, when tomorrow comes.
Kingdom people are tethered to something higher and more stable than this world
Corrie Ten Boom, a Christian holocaust survivor, was quoted during her life saying, “Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength—carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”
Dang, that’s really good, isn’t it? Are you moving into tomorrow ahead of time? Are you praying “empty” these days? Perhaps you’re carrying two days at once.
Someone once said that “worry and anxiety gives us a false sense of responsibility.” As if all of life hinges on us. As if we are the agents to change people’s outcomes.
How much time is wasted in worry-filled hearts? I love how Jesus says to Mary when she came to him in frustration, “Mary, Mary, you are worried and upset by so many things, but only one thing is needful.” (Luke 10:41)
Casting our cares on Him can be hard to do sometimes. It’s not our normal practice, yet, though it should be. We need to practice more. It is the way of the Kingdom.
Those squirrels doing gymnastics in the trees above my head aren’t worried about their next jump, they just leap. They do what squirrels do. What are we doing?
Kingdom people are tethered to something higher and more stable than this world. The goodness of God fastens them securely to Himself. We are of far more worth than any created thing, yet we worry and voice prayers that are anchored to the earth. I say, eyes up, heads up! We are told to lift up our gaze and realize a better way, a higher way. (Psalm 121)
“Consider the birds, how they live,” Jesus says. That’s something I’ve done literally around our house. I love the presence of wild birds—the finches, the woodpeckers, the chickadees. They surround my feeders, especially during the winter months. They are reminders of God’s faithful provision, and in this way, He uses me to feed them, and they are none the wiser. That’s how it works.
What are you tethered to these days? Are you carrying two days at once?
* And while I love the acrobatics of our local squirrel population, they can descend like a horde attacking my feeders as soon as I fill them. What I love to watch in the trees, I hate to see on my feeders, but I’ve found a solution. Cayenne pepper. Tasteless to birds but repulsive to squirrels. Spicy revenge is so satisfying.