Today is the Day

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. We’ve all heard that, but do we believe it? I like to ponder the implications. For one thing, it means that each day is a new beginning. No matter what happened in the past, this is a new day. I can’t change the past, but the Savior can atone for anything that needs to be changed. So I don’t need to worry or fret or become depressed because of it. A new day is like a clean slate that I can write upon. What has happened in the past is erased from the slate and I can write whatever I want on the slate that is this day. I just need to stay close to God and do what is right in this moment—the only moment I have control over.

Another thing that comes to mind when I hear this saying is hope. It rings with hope. I can repent. I can change. I can grow because of Jesus Christ. That is what hope is all about. Without Him there would be no hope, no future, but because of Him there is always hope. I just need to remember and cling to that hope instead of heeding the competing cacophony of doom and despair that fills the world.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life implies that my agency is key to my life. I am the one who chooses. I am the one with the power to make this day a good one. No one else can do it for me. So I’m going to make it the best day I possibly can. And tomorrow? Well, when it comes I’ll consider it. For now, I only need to think about today.