Reflections by Chuck Cluff, Atherton resident since 2004
Passage: Lamentations 3:22-23: “Your mercies are new every morning. Great s your Faithfulness.”
“You have never had a moment exactly like this.” This is an accurate statement no matter how similar it may seem to a time before. We are not the same; we are older. Those around us are not exactly the same; they are older. Countless environmental variables are constantly changing; weather, situations, happenings, people’s moods and actions, our own feelings and our health, much more. We are always facing a time we have never had before. Each moment is actually happening for the first time, In a sense then, we start fresh all the time.
The only thing that makes life look similar is our making the same decisions we have been making all along. Yes, there are some unique moments of big decision that affect us tremendously: who we will marry if we do, whether we will have a family, what spiritual path we will take, where we will live, what our vocation will be. These are huge firsts. But most decisions are small. These small ones can embellish our lives or leave us tired and bored. To the spiritual beings observing us from the other side we must be very predictable. They know what we will most likely do is what we have been doing over and over again.
The day on the calendar and the time on the clock have never been before and never will be again. When you tell someone the time, it is not that time anymore. In a race, you are in front of what is behind you. You are looking ahead and every step is a first in that direction. This is how life is. It is always moving forward. Living it doesn’t have to be like it always has been. If we do something again the same way it should be prefaced in our minds by, “I am deciding to do it the way I did yesterday, and the day before that, and maybe the day before that”. It doesn’t have to be the same way though. Since every moment is new, we can consider other options; going a different route in the market, driving other roads to where we are going, having something different for a meal, walking another way, choosing to take a risk. Force of habit is probably the easiest thing to do, but not necessarily the one that will bring the most satisfaction, entertainment, enjoyment or growth.
Maybe we could think; “I have never made this exact decision at this exact time before, and never will again. So, I’m going to make it fresh and eventful.”
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