God’s care, sufficient each day
I have never been a hurdler in track and field events, but this past summer my days felt like one hurdle after another.
We were selling our home and buying a condo. Moving house during the pandemic had extra complication, as did the professional work I was scheduled to do on top of that. It involved housing three people on our original property in a way that complied with public health regulations, as well as an all-day presentation for a hybrid group of in-person, physically distanced attendees and others who would be joining via online video technology.
When feeling overwhelmed, I’ve found it helpful to pray. In this case, I turned to Christ Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew’s Gospel in the Bible (see chaps. 5-7). One verse that had a wry bit of humor for me was: “Don’t worry at all then about tomorrow. Tomorrow can take care of itself! One day’s trouble is enough for one day” (Matthew 6:34, J.B. Phillips, “The New Testament in Modern English”).
I could certainly relate! There seemed to be one hard task after another in my days. But I also sensed that there was something positive in this somewhat disparaging message. Echoing Jesus’ words, Mary Baker Eddy – a spiritual reformer and the discoverer of Christian Science – wrote, “We cannot boast ourselves of to-morrow; sufficient unto each day is the duty thereof” (“The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany,” p. 161).
This set me on a course of asking God each day, in fact each moment, What am I supposed to be doing right now? It prompted me to discipline my thoughts to stay in each moment, appreciating the duty at hand. Our fundamental job as God’s children is to reflect His nature, to express the qualities of goodness and peace he imparts to all of us. It’s about staying close to God and aware of God’s guidance, not just getting to the end of the task, the day, the week, the month, or the finish line. When this is our primary objective, we are able to do what we need to with more gratitude, creativity, patience, and love.
I began to find great joy and strength during each day’s chores. For instance, I felt tender appreciation for all that our home had provided as I raked the leaves from the original property, and gratitude for all who were helping with the move and the event planning.
Then we hit a really difficult patch. It had been a very dry summer in Maine, and with three visitors at our property, the cistern ran dry. Then the septic system sprang a leak in our new place, and I almost burst into tears. “I can’t do this!” I thought.
But even more emphatically, this reassurance came to mind: “God pours the riches of His love into the understanding and affections, giving us strength according to our day” (Mary Baker Eddy, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 5). It felt as if I was drilling down deep into a spiritual aquifer of strength and inspiration, way beyond what I could personally muster even as a “can-do” person. God, divine Love, is always here to support us.
Solutions for both problems quickly came to light. And the move and presentation were completed successfully.
The Apostle Paul talked about hitting a wall of adversity and praying to be delivered from it. God answered his prayer by saying, “My grace is sufficient for thee” (II Corinthians 12:9). No matter what hurdles we may face and how overwhelmed we may feel, God’s wellspring of care and support is full right now. We can always draw upon this unfailing resource and find that God’s infinite grace is truly sufficient for each day.
Some more great ideas! To read or listen to a poem in The Christian Science Journal titled “The sovereign God,” please click through to www.JSH-Online.com. There is no paywall for this content.
