If Tomorrow Never Comes
I don’t know about you, but procrastination and time wasting have been real hindrances to me as a writer. And, I am not even talking about those times when I try to avoid the writing process by filling my time with other things. Have you ever sat down to write and managed to fritter away the hours, such that you have little or nothing to show for it? The frustration of this can lead you to start stealing time from the other important things in your life with the hope that you might bear fruit. Before you know it, you are turning up, not with the commitment to produce something, but only with a hope that something might happen. The danger is that the act of turning up becomes a substitute for real productivity, while the desire to be productive becomes an obsession that cuts you off from the real world and locks you in to some circular pattern of pretending.
Now, you are more concerned about being seen to be a writer (who goes into his/her study for hours), rather than actually doing the work of a writer.
When people ask you about your writing, do you give some vague thoughts about the things you intend to write about, and then change the subject before they ask to read something. How many of us have been frittering away the gift that God has given us because we have allowed ourselves to become locked into a cycle of unproductive activity where good intentions and good impressions feed our desire to be seen as a writer, while the truth tells a different story. Being a pretend writer is one thing, but when we begin to neglect the people we love and isolate ourselves – just in case we might have a breakthrough – we have allowed the idea of being a writer to become an obsession and even an idol.
If God has called you to write, He also wants you to bear fruit – whether anyone pays you for it or not. Each of us has a unique voice and perspective that the Lord wants to use, if we will let Him – but we have to get it on paper and out where it can be read by the ones who need it. God has also called you to live for Him in the world – and write out of the things you discover – so you cannot hide in your study and expect to be fruitful.
My advice:
Make time to write and write, but never ever be satisfied with just turning up with good intentions. When your allocated time is up, get up and turn up to participate in the lives of the ones that matter to you and to God. Never allow the writing process to take over your life and cut you off from the people who matter. Time stops for no one, and a decade can disappear in a flash. So, write that book and build those relationships while you can, because TOMORROW may never come.
This poem, called ‘If Tomorrow Never Comes’, is a reminder to make the most of a limited resource called TIME, by not putting off the things that matter – especially the people and things we care about.
IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES
If I knew it would be the last time that I’d see you fall asleep
I would tuck you in more tightly and pray the Lord your soul to keep.If I knew it would be the last time that I would see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and a kiss, and call you back for more.If I knew it would be the last time I’d hear you voice lifted up in praise,
I would video each action and word, so I could play them back day after day.If I knew it would be the last time you would hear my voice, I would stop and say, “I love you” instead of assuming you would know I do.
If I knew it would be the last time I would be there to share your day.
Well, I’m sure you’ll have so many more, so I can let this one just slip away.
For surely there’s always tomorrow to make up for an oversight
And we always get a second chance to make everything alright.There will always be another day to say “I love you’s”
And certainly there’s another chance to say “Anything I can do’s?”But just in case I might be wrong and today is all I get,
I’d like to say how much I love you, and I hope we never forget.Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight.So if you’re waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes, you’ll surely regret the dayThat you didn’t take that extra time for a smile, a hug, a kiss
And you were too busy to grant someone what turned out to be their one last wish.So hold your loved ones close today, and whisper in their ear,
That close to your heart, you will always hold them dear.Take time to say
“I’m sorry”
“Please forgive me”
“Thank you”
“I love you” or
“It’s okay”And IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES
You’ll have no regrets about today.
Author unknown