My grandmother became a widow at a young age and was left alone to raise four young children and run the family funeral home business. In addition to her faith and support from her community, she often credits the old hymn “One Day at a Time” with helping her through this challenging time in her life.

The chorus goes like this:

One day at a time, sweet Jesus

That's all I'm asking of You

Just give me the strength to do everyday

What I have to do

Oh, yesterday's gone, sweet Jesus

And tomorrow may never be mine

Help me today

Show me the way

One day at a time

Jesus teaches us about living one day at a time in Matthew 6:34: “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

And do you remember when the Israelites were wandering in the desert for 40 years? 

God only provided them enough manna for one day at a time.  

I don’t know about you, but for this “Type A” Mom with four kids, living one day at a time does not come easy! I like to plan and use my calendar and list-making apps to prepare weeks in advance for most things. I set reminders, timers and even use strategically placed sticky notes around the house. However, if I pack my daily agenda full from sun up to sundown, then I don’t always leave room for the Holy Spirit to work in my life. I may not feel like I have time (and admittedly get a little disgruntled) when one of my kids needs some quality time when trying to run out the door, when another requires some extra help with homework, or when my car gets a flat tire. An “interruption” in my tightly planned schedule doesn’t always bring out the best in me. When I am constantly focused on “what is to come,” I am distracted from living for TODAY! I have a friend who carves out extra time when she heads out to run errands in case God has a divine appointment for her with a cashier or an old friend-someone else who needs encouragement that day. She is expectant for God to use her each day, even in mundane moments. Isn’t that amazing? Leaving room for God to use me in my busy schedule and focusing on the day at hand is something I want to continue to grow in.  




Reflecting on 2020, I realized that I got a lot of practice living “day by day.” Each day brought about new anticipations, worries, and cares that I had to hand over to God continually. 

Questions like “Will we ever go back to school after Spring Break? Will someone I know get diagnosed with COVID-19? Will my kids have to be quarantined (and how many of them)? Will our family vacation need to be postponed? Will my child behave on Zoom? Will my husband’s work bounce back? What will tomorrow hold?” Suddenly my calendar was full of question marks and (gasp) blanks!!!!! Life as we knew it had become undone! We had to trust God's grace would be enough for whatever the next day held-no matter what the latest news headline said. 

And the truth is – His grace is always sufficient, it’s always on time, and His mercies are new every morning.  

His grace and mercy looked like:

• • teachers showing up on Zoom with their smiling faces and fun videos to engage the students
  • friends driving by for birthday parades when your 10th birthday party gets canceled
  • church moving into our homes with praise and worship being heard throughout the neighborhood
  • school board members, staff, and our amazing nurse working around the clock to open our school up safely
  • teachers and staff packing up locker contents in sacks and making the transition to Covenant at Home as seamless as possible
  • beautiful weather for weeks on end so we could take events safely outdoors

“Therefore, we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16

Lord,

We thank you for guiding each and every day. Thank you for teaching us to live one day at a time during 2020. We praise you for your daily grace, your new mercies, and for holding our hands and guiding our steps through it all.

In Jesus’ Name, we pray,

Amen