Proverbs 27

Verse 1: Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth. (NIV)

We have cycled through the book of Proverbs. I have missed a couple of days recently...maybe you have too. But this verse speaks volumes to me today. What will a day bring? I have no idea.

Yesterday I was riding with a friend I have known since grade school. We were talking about our 20th anniversary next summer. The question was put to me.

"Are you where you thought you'd be when we graduated?"
I laughed. "Yup," I said, "I fully expected to be living in a duplex in Plainfield and selling lumber for a living."We both laughed.

Don't misunderstand. I don't have 20 years full of regret. I have had some interesting experiences along the way. I have a beautiful wife, three amazing kids, my health, both of my parents and close relationships with both of my brothers. All is not bad...many things are good. But to say I am doing what I was made to do or what I planned to do in the summer of 1988 would be a lie.

I was to be a writer. I watched Dances With Wolves and went to the prairie to write a novel. Not exactly what happened.

In retrospect I can see the turning points in much of this journey. The catalyst for certain decisions I made then is very clear now. That's why the first verse of this chapter speaks to me so strongly.

My wife and I were talking the other night about our plan to get debt free the other night. She has stepped up like no other I know of. First a part time job, then two, plus getting the kids off to school, homework when they get off the bus and all the other stuff she does. But in that conversation we talked about the second job I am starting, the salary cuts where I work, side jobs, the budget, the plan...

The cool thing is we both realized how fast it all could change. Not in a dire way...in a good way. She's doing make up artist work. She has completed a wedding and has leads for more...that could turn into who knows what. I am desperately trying to find time to write a book and then someone to publish it.
What if one of those things hits? We're staring down this MASSIVE student loan debt I hold and wondering, when we get to it, how we will ever pay it off. All of the planning and working and everything else and it may happen in a way we can't possibly even imagine today.
That's what verse one is about...it's about life. It's about today. It's about right now. I'm not talking about a living-for-the-moment thinking here. I am talking about taking care of today bacause that's all we can do.

It's amazing how much pressure is relieved when I focus on today and leave yesterday where it is and leave tomorrow where it is until it becomes today.

Gods Speed,
Greg