Day by Day

There is enough strength, joy, and grace for each day. No more, no less. Adequacy is God’s chosen pattern.

We demand, and want to define, abundance. God’s response is, “Enough.”

We hear the promise of abundant life – and think “more.” Jesus, who makes the promise, means “other.”

We are greedy for life – reaching, grasping. And in doing so, have nothing.

God is seeking to give us our lives – and does so every day – but our hands are so full with what we grab that we can not receive the life He gives.

Striving to save our lives, to find our lives, we lose our lives. Our constant quest for more leaves us with none. The very little we have is wasted away in the effort and anxiety.

Meanwhile God stands, hands and heart full, ready and willing to give what we most long for. But we have no capacity, so full are we with taking.

We hear – and believe – that nothing will happen to us that we can not handle. But that is not true. We are not built to handle our own lives by ourselves. All kinds of things will happen to us that we can not handle – except with God’s help. It is His way of reminding us that we are built for grander things. But first, we have to receive our own lives.

And so . . . seeking our own lives, we begin with release, with letting go, with surrender. The ancient and still helpful word is relinquishment.

Even in release we begin to give thanks – for the gift of each day, for the events and people of each day, for the promised and real presence of God with us in each day, for the resources of time, talent, energy adequate for each day, for the gentle editing taking place as some fruit is cut off to allow for greater fruitfulness . . . day by day by day.

Then we begin to chose the rhythms of grace that will sustain adequacy. As we do, we will discover that enough is enough. And that is all that is really needed. Thanks be to God.