T is for TOMORROW

Tomorrow I have chosen to move to a new letter in my writings though by the time you read what I write, it will be today and today will be yesterday - which says a lot for the day before today, that is now totally forgotten.

I've always loved the word 'tomorrow' and find great comfort in knowing that not everything has to be accomplished today. I suppose I'm a bit of a procrastinator but I'd rather leave that subject for some other time! But you do get great peace of mind in realising that a bill that pops through your letterbox today doesn't necessarily require immediate attention and a phone call that's in your mind to make will probably do later in the week. Over Christmas I had planned to visit an old friend of mum and dad but tomorrow always seemed to be a very convenient word - and I'm still no closer to that visit, but I will do it, some day - maybe even tomorrow! I suppose what we all mean by tomorrow in such instances is really 'sometime in the near future' for tomorrow rarely comes on the day that we expect it to and it seems to lack a degree of urgency when we use it.

There are many instances when tomorrow really becomes something to look forward to, like knowing that tomorrow is the first day of the holidays, Christmas Day, your wedding day, or tomorrow is pay day, or even that tomorrow is Friday or tomorrow signals a cinema visit, a big football match or a chance to catch up with the rest of the family when they come home from college. Equally, there are many moments when tomorrow can carry on its wings, emotions and feelings that do not rest easily on our shoulders so the thought of visiting the dentist, going for medical tests,sitting an exam or even the driving test do not bring the same calm, peaceful warmth to our souls. Sometimes tomorrow can mean an inevitable confrontation, the loss of or final goodbye to a loved one, a deadline that must be met, the first day of a new career or the last day of an old one, the beginning of retirement, the start of medical treatment, an important operation or even a new resolution that we make. And , in a moment of weakness, when the clothes fit more tightly, the wine bottle is nearly empty, the cigarette box has only a few sticks left, when we only see the children asleep because we are too busy, when every step we take requires more effort, not to mention more oxygen, how often have we said, 'tomorrow I'm going to change.' Who are we kidding? If we can't make such decisions today, how do we hope to make them tomorrow for very soon it just becomes today as well. At such times, I think tomorrow carries much more urgency than we think.

At school, it was always a welcome relief to hear the teacher say that we would have to 'finish something off tomorrow', for then you knew that the class was almost over and freedom was just around the corner. Inversely, hearing that same phrase when you were in the middle of a football kick about or a Science experiment that was really enjoyable, was a bit of a disappointment. Sometimes tomorrow fills you with great hope, on other occasions it gives you no hope. At home, when wife and I are gardening, which sometimes just amounts to shrub or flower gazing, there is that in-built conscience which suddenly switches on like a light bulb and whispers gently but very loudly in your ear, 'let's finish the rest tomorrow'. How comforting it is to know that tomorrow exists for such days like gardening days, lawn mowing days, car washing days and housework days.

I suppose I'm as guilty as anyone for using tomorrow as a get out clause. How often have you been asked by your children about something and your reply has been, 'We'll do that tomorrow.' You can relax again for a few hours but you better be thinking ahead for they won't forget your promise twenty four hours later and if we keep using tomorrow as an excuse, eventually it starts to have the same meaning as 'never'.

Which is probably why the writer of Proverbs says 'Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth' and also why Jesus, in Matthew's Gospel, says 'Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.' And it's also why Paul, bringing more urgency, write to the Corinthians, 'I tell you, now is the time of God's favour, now is the day of salvation.' Not tomorrow, but now. Today is not the day to procrastinate about His great gift of grace for tomorrow may never come. In Hebrews we read, 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.' That makes tomorrow a very long time!