We are only the sum of days.

"It occurs to me, as it sometimes does, that this day is over and will never be lived again, that we are only the sum of days, and when those are spent, we will not come back to this place, to this time, to these people and these colors, and I wonder whether to be sad about this or to be happy, to trust that these hours are meant for some kind of enjoyment, as a kind of blessing. And it feels, tonight, as if there is much to think about, there is much we have been given and much we have left behind."

Kind of changes the way you think about your days huh? Your struggles and challenges become over-shadowed by the pure and simple fact that you will never get this day back. There is no rewind button or pause button on life.

So how do you spend your day? Do you spend it bitter and frustrated with situations and potential scenarios? Do you spend it knee deep in drama? Do you spend it standing in the middle of your life, figuring out how the heck you ended up here in this moment?

OR do you spend your day feeling blessed? Waking up to a new day, a new opportunity to be thankful for what you have, where you have been and what the day ahead of you promises?

A new day brings new chances to see the mysterious ways the Lord is weaving together this thing called life. It is a chance to show gratitude for the individuals in your life, to honor the people who were in your life making you into who you are and to remember the people who are missing from your life. The should've, could've and would've's and the what ifs are also blessings and part of life is figuring out that the things, people and moments we have left behind are all part of the larger picture. And what is this larger picture? This larger picture of our lives is one that we can not understand or comprehend, one that we weren't meant to understand just quite yet.

There are the old cliches about life being a journey........ I like to think of it as a road trip. Its a long trip, many miles and one hell of a ride. We run out of gas, get lost, hit storms and get flat tires. But there is nothing better than the open road, the car set on cruise control with the windows down and music blaring. Not caring if you look ridiculous singing along to music that you would be embarrassed to be listening too. Wearing a wicked cute pair of sun glasses and hanging one arm out the window. Looking in the rear view mirror, seeing where you are coming from but not exactly knowing where you are going, but knowing that when you get there, it is no accident and you are exactly where you are meant to be.

"I don't think we can really understand how time passes. We can't study it like a river or tame it with a clock. Our devices only mark its coming and going. I dropped an anchor three months back, but time didn't slow. Some things have to end, you know. You feel like life is always leading up to something, but it isn't. I mean life is just life. It's all happening right now, and we aren't going to be any more complete a month from now that we are now. I only say this because I am trying to appreciate everything tonight. I will be leaving soon, and I want to feel this, really understand that it is happening because God breathed some spark into some mud that became us, and HE did it for a reason, and I want to feel that reason, not some false explanation."

:: Donald Miller