Dear Reader,
I’ve been thinking a lot about what truly matters—and how easy it is to take those very things for granted. My family is my most precious gift, yet sometimes, they don’t hold the place they should at the top of my priorities. I have good intentions, but as the saying goes, good intentions alone don’t get us very far.
I recently came across this poem:
“They were going to be all they wanted to be, tomorrow.
None would be braver or kinder than they, tomorrow.
A friend who was troubled and weary they knew,
Would be glad for a lift, and he needed it too.
And on him they would call and see what they could do—tomorrow.
Each morning they stacked up the letters they’d write—tomorrow.
And thought of the folks they would fill with delight—tomorrow.
The greatest of people, they just might have been.
The world would have opened its heart to them,
But in fact, they passed on and faded from view,
And all that they left when their living was through
Was a mountain of things they intended to do—tomorrow.”
That’s our struggle, isn’t it?
My grandfather, whom I affectionately called “Pop,” used to tell me, “Keep short accounts.” He was teaching me not to put things off, not to hold out on people, but to extend grace—as much grace as has been extended to me. That, I believe, is the true gift. And I’m learning that it starts with those closest to me.
But maybe for you, it’s someone farther away—someone you’ve been meaning to reach out to. Let me encourage you: don’t wait. Do it TODAY. As soon as you finish reading this, write that letter you’ve been meaning to write. Make that lunch appointment. Pick up the phone and call.
Don’t wait until tomorrow. Give grace now!
Rev. James Williams
Senior Pastor, Grace Resurrection Methodist Church