Wednesday Wonder

“Tomorrow is now.”

Eleanor Roosevelt
The above quote is now up outside my office door. It is the reminder for 2026. Some of you may have noticed it when you were at church Sunday, or since then. Eleanor Roosevelt is a woman whose story I find inspiring. She is a wonderful example of how one person can make a difference, especially if they use the power they have for good work.

This quote caught my eye on my bulletin board at home the other day. I had printed it out, I assume, for some inspiration at some point. It goes along with a saying my mother shared with me, far too much in my opinion: “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”

Not sure if I have admitted in one of these offerings about what a procrastinator I am, but that saying was my mother’s attempt to help me not put things off too much or too long. Didn’t always work, but she tried. You may have noticed I also have a bit of a stubborn streak.

Thinking about procrastination and putting things off leads to Eleanor’s quote. It is so very true. Tomorrow is now. Today is yesterday’s tomorrow. Yep, a very circular sounding statement but completely true.

On New Year’s Eve, I wrote that there had been some things I kept dubbing a 2026 problem. It is now 2026, so they are just problems. No more putting them off. 2026 is now. Tomorrow is now.

We often like to put things off. Usually they are things we don’t want to do or deal with. They are things that make us uncomfortable. If we keep putting them off, maybe we won’t have to deal with them.

As I have mentioned before, I am a list maker. I watch myself literally move things from one day to the next on my lists at times. Clearly, I keep thinking, “I will do it tomorrow.” Then tomorrow arrives and I move it again. There are times the list simply does not get done so what is left gets moved to the next day in the hopes that it will get done. There are also the times when I add other things to the list in hopes of not having to deal with something. Fill the time with something else and then I can put it off until tomorrow.

Tomorrow eventually has to come. Tomorrow is now. Putting things off indefinitely isn’t going to stop them from needing to be done. Well, sometimes they may, but usually not. There are things we need to face and do today, for today is that tomorrow we talked about yesterday.

As the new year begins we have a chance to think about what we have been putting off until tomorrow. What things would you like to add to your life that you have been putting off? Have you been wanting to deepen your prayer life, read the Bible more, attend church more regularly? Have you been wanting to take a class, declutter the house (or even just your closet – I did my shoes recently), take a trip or try a new recipe? Have you been putting these things off for some reason? Keep telling yourself, “Tomorrow. I will start tomorrow.”

Luckily, God doesn’t work that way. God doesn’t put it off until tomorrow. God deals with what needs to be dealt with when it needs to be dealt with. That may not always seem like the right time to us, but in the grand scheme of life, it will be.

The Israelites waited a long time, are still waiting, for the Messiah to arrive. It seemed like God kept putting it off. But the Messiah arrived when the Messiah needed to arrive. Not everyone missed it. Maybe they thought tomorrow would be the day and didn’t look closely enough.

God’s timing is always correct. Perhaps our response needs to be well timed also. Let’s stop putting off until tomorrow those things that show God’s love to others. God is counting on us to do our part in God’s timing.

Tomorrow is now.