There are many people who are not with us to experience this first day of summer. I keep wondering if I knew this was my last summer, would I treat it differently. Would I complain about the heat or appreciate a day of warmth that followed a cloudy May? If this is my final first day of summer, would I someday miss the same experience that I’m complaining about today?

These questions stick with me because they push aside the mental muck and reignite a passion to seize the day with purpose and gratefulness. My days are limited…numbered. I’m learning to value each day because of how scarce they are in my life time. If I had an infinite amount of days then I could afford to squander some. My prayer has become,“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.” -Psalm 39:4

I want to be intentional in how I spend the days of my life. I want to spend my days with a Godly purpose, with enduring hope, and unquenching love. I want to feel the heat of the sun, the joy of reaching goals and the disappointment of broken plans. I’m alive and I want to fully embrace all that the Lord has for me today. 

Maybe this isn’t my final summer but I’m certain that there will be a final summer for me someday. This is true for all of us. Death’s reality demands that we fully live today, for tomorrow isn’t promised. Anything worth doing tomorrow is worth doing today.  

He was going to be all that a mortal should be 

Tomorrow.

No one should be kinder or braver than he

Tomorrow.

A friend who was troubled and weary he knew,

Who’d be glad of a lift and who needed it, too;

On him he would call and see what he could do

Tomorrow.

Each morning he stacked up the letters he’d write

Tomorrow.

And thought of the folks he would fill with delight

Tomorrow.

It was too bad, indeed, he was busy today,

And hadn’t a minute to stop on his way;

More time he would have to give others, he’d say

Tomorrow.
The greatest of workers this man would have been

Tomorrow.

The world would have known him, had he ever seen

Tomorrow.

But the fact is he died and he faded from view,

And all that he left here when living was through

Was a mountain of things he intended to do

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow by Edgar Guest

50 lives were violently taken today. 53 additional people were injured. Again the tragedies have become a point of debate more than a moment to grieve.  Stalin’s words are becoming evident that, “A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.” And we often struggle with what to do in the midst of such prevalent hatred and violence.

I think a good place to start is to grieve the tragedy of the lives stolen in Orlando and in our own communities.  Then consider how we will live. People who endeavor to do good must be equally as bold in their acts as those who seek to do evil. There are so many good people who are timid and shy about their purpose. As a result there are so many books unwritten, music unsung, verses unspoken, sermons not preached, art not created, voices unheard, and art unseen. The world needs to witness the good work you have yet to accomplish (Ephesians 2:10).

Don’t be shy in your endeavor to do good.

Be bold, courageous, full of hope and yet willing to fail. Your contribution is necessary. Put the pen to the paper, compel your heart to find its voice, devote your hands to perfecting their craft, invoke your mind toward innovative solutions, and resolve to be poured out rather than rust out.

As Benjamin Mays said, “Every man and woman is born into the world to do something unique and something distinctive and if he or she does not do it, it will never be done.”

I look forward to the day where the world is frequently stunned by bold acts of love. Until then, I will grieve the tragedy today and work toward unabashedly making my contribution toward a better tomorrow.