Kevin and I have worked out a system in which we split up the weekend mornings: I get Saturday and he gets Sunday. I'll be honest: it's extremely tempting to squander my morning by sleeping in--my bed is oh-so-comfortable and if I put on my eye mask and ear plugs, I can usually tune out the pitter patter of little feet and the over-eager light of the sun. Usually, however, I use Saturdays to complete my long runs. This Saturday was no exception.
The schedule, aka my slave driver, said to run nine miles, which is a very doable distance, but for whatever reason that day I recoiled at the idea. I did not want to run. Any distance. At all. I felt groggy, my energy was low, it was hot and humid, I was sick of running in the same boring neighborhoods...my list was lengthy, cleverly contrived, and convincing. A little voice told me to put off the run until the next day and crawl back into bed (I think it was the same little voice that says it's not a problem to consume half a pan of brownies in a sitting). I was this close to listening to the voice and surrendering to sleep when I walked outside to get the paper and the fresh air overtook me. Walking back in, a force more powerful than beckoning weather met me--a long, drawn-out wail from one of the boys. Fully convinced, I hastily got dressed and set out.
Early on in my run I began meditating on that old proverb: "Do not put off until tomorrow what can be done today." While I was pleased as punch that I had actually followed the saying, I wondered what motivated Jesus to instruct his disciples to do this. Now, I know it's probably unwise for one with as limited amount of wisdom as I have to meddle in the mind of the Master, but I attempted to answer the question of why. Why should we do things as they come up, rather than wait?
A few answers came to mind: first, crossing off a task from our to-do list clears mental space. While motherhood has done many wonderful things for me, it certainly hasn't helped with my ability to multi-task. The day of a mother is comprised of so many tiny to-dos that it's tough to remember them all, let alone do them. All too often I recall some mundane task that needs to be taken care of in the kitchen, walk into the kitchen to do it, only to see that the floor needs sweeping. So I sweep it and completely forget about whatever it was I originally entered the room to do. Jesus knows about the all-too-limited nature of our minds. Therefore, maybe he's doing us a favor by recommending that we just do it (sorry, Nike).
Secondly, you never know what the future holds. Sure, I could easily have put off my run until tomorrow, but what if I woke up and it was raining? If that was the case, chances are good that I wouldn't have got the run in at all. Intuitively we know this when we tell our spouses "I love you" every morning; it may seem a little perfunctory, but somewhere in the recesses of our mind we know that anything could happen that day, for better or, God forbid, for worse. So, we seize hold of the moment by offering them that hug, that peck on the lips, that "I love you." Or we should. For you never know.
Finally, we should do things now because Jesus says so, he is our King, and we need to listen to him. The King is not one to bargain with. Consider the knights of old: back then, there was no "Hey King, I really like what you had to say about taking care of that nasty dragon business on the coast, and I plan on getting to it at some point, but I'm just not feeling it right now. Kind of tired, you know? That, and my wife is getting on my case for always being gone. So, if it's all the same to you, I think I'll just go home today, get some rest, and maybe look into the situation next week. Sound good?" All the king would have had to do at that point would be to give a nod and--poof!--the knight would be no more. The appropriate response is: "Yes, King. I'll do that, King. Right away, King. Thank you, King." Jesus, the king of the universe, is no exception. We should obey his mandates, and obey them today.
As I wrapped up my run, I felt pleased as punch with my well thought-out ideas and hurried home to look up the exact biblical reference where one could find the "Do not put off...." verse. Matthew, I thought. I think it is in Matthew. Probably somewhere in the Sermon on the Mount. Nope. Then it's gotta be in Proverbs. Sounds pretty proverbial. Not there either. Funny thing, it turns out that this saying is just that--a saying--and isn't even in the Bible. Which kind of renders my post obsolete and should forevermore make anyone question anything I try quoting from the Bible. Certainly I will not be chosen for any one's Bible Trivia team. Wow. Next thing I know you're going to tell me that I Scream, You Scream is just a silly nursery rhyme...
But it may just be that my post has some meaning to it after all, for I'm convinced God wanted me to go for a jog that Saturday. I do some of my best thinking during my long runs. You can only listen to music for so long before it starts to grate on your eardrums, and the music on Kevin's iPod (think: Bob Marley and Enya) doesn't exactly lend itself well to working out. So about half way through my run I started thinking about my sister and about some of the big things that have happened to her this year, both good and bad. And while I was dwelling on these things, God revealed something about His sovereignty and purpose in her life that was so amazing it took my breath away. When this thought hit me, I actually stopped running and kneeled on the road to thank Him, I was so overwhelmed. After that it was just a big love fest between me and the Big Guy. So, the run was a blessing--one that I might not have received had I not gone out running that day.
So, regardless of where those words about doing things now originated from, I still think it's prudent to do things when you have the chance rather than wait. Now if I can just put this into practice the next time the desire to stay in bed hits...
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