Now or Later?

Many of you know that a fellow author and I are donating our services to help my church celebrate its upcoming 150th anniversary by creating a book of memoirs from the current members. It's a great project to leave a legacy for future members, and will also be a fundraiser for the church. The difficulty is in obtaining those memoirs.

The Bible tells us not to worry and live in the present. Matthew 6:34 states: " Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." So does that mean to give no thought to tomorrow and don't worry about future obligations? I personally don't think so.

Matthew 24:36 says: "[ The Day and Hour Unknown ] “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." While that is talking about Jesus' return to Earth and the day of reckoning, it tells us to be ready. We just don't know what the future will bring!

It's easy to procrastinate, but I've learned from my own experience to try to do important things promptly because I never know if I will be able to do it tomorrow. It might seem possible or even probable that I can, but the truth is that none of us can be certain of the future. I think that's the dilemma sometimes.

We won't finalize work on the church memoirs for about a year, and it's easy to think there is plenty of time. But the truth is that four members have already passed away since this project was announced little more than a month ago, and the opportunity to include their personal history and involvement in our church is gone. What a great loss to them, to us, and future generations!

I know I sometimes lean toward acting on things until the due date. But I also forget that things take time, especially if they are done right. So currently I'm thinking how to encourage participation now - whether it's on memoirs or anything else that is important.

One elderly person recently opined that she hasn't done the memoir response yet because "she doesn't know what to write." But I surmise that most of us writers may sometimes not know either, but once we start, there is no stopping. The hard part is simply deciding to do it now.

So if you are one who is waiting to do a memoir, or there's something else important you've been putting off, make the effort to do it today. Just think what will be missed in the future without you or me in it? Let's try not to find out.