Most of us live this fast-paced life of the 21st century with loads of information about our own lives and schedules running through our heads. And for many of us, this can keep us from sleeping.
For my husband, it happens in the mornings. He’ll wake up long before his (very early!) alarm goes off with his mind racing with all that needs to be done. So he’ll get up, unable to return to sleep.
I’m the opposite. Night owl me encounters these racing thoughts at night when the house is dark and quiet, and my book is closed. I tend to lie awake for hours thinking of things I need to do and how to get them all done.
But this year I’ve employed a new strategy—one I feel was inspired by the Holy Spirit—which has been of some help, so I thought I’d share it with you. It hasn’t stilled the racing thoughts completely, but I’ve been more rested and less anxious over my life, which is good.
What have I done? I’ve simply taken Jesus’s words to heart.
Now, I don’t mean that when I’m in bed I don’t think about the literal tomorrow. For me, when one day is done (which means I’m in bed), the next is now “today.” However, I have refused to let myself go down the path of all the other tomorrows after that.
In other words, I’ve been reining in my thoughts and limiting them to one day at a time. The day it will be when I wake up. When I catch my thoughts wandering to the rest of the week, month, or year and my anxiety ramps up, I stop and deliberately return my thoughts to only what is scheduled to be done or needs to be done on the day it will be when dawn comes.
Of course, this idea of “one day at a time” is nothing new. Not only did Jesus talk about it in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew (including chapter 6), but the song “One Day at a Time”, written in 1974, encapsulates it, too. Consider these words from the chorus:
“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.”
To clarify, it’s not that I never think beyond “tomorrow.” I am, by nature, a planner, after all. But I don’t let myself do that kind of planning while in bed trying to sleep. Living one day at a time—at least in my head at night—has resulted in some much-needed rest and much less stressful mornings.
Do you have any deliberate practices that lead you to live “one day at a time”?
So good!
Thanks!