Tomorrow is a gift, not a guarantee

What will you do with it?

We are not guaranteed a tomorrow.

Live today like it’s the best gift you’ve ever been given, because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Yesterday I spoke with a good friend who shared with me about another friend’s tragic situation. His wife went into the hospital for a minor surgical procedure and died shortly thereafter due to a blood clot. She was an otherwise healthy person, with dreams and hopes for the future.

Earlier this week I was on a call with members of a nonprofit board on which I serve and heard a similar story. One of their supporters, a healthy, hard-charging supporter of theirs went in for a surgical procedure on his toe. He died in the operating room due to complications of the surgery.

Neither of these people expected their lives to end this way, I’m sure. They were largely healthy, content people who had dreams, expectations, and plans for the future. I’m sure they had calendar appointments for the days and weeks after their surgical procedures. They had family visits planned. Lunches with friends. Trips planned with their spouses.

But none of that matters anymore, because they weren’t guaranteed any tomorrows.

So what’s my point here?

Don’t put off the important things in your life.

• Tell the people that matter to you just how much you care about them.

• Apologize to that family member you’ve been avoiding.

• Put your phone down and pay attention to your kid in the moment. The phone can wait.

• Text that friend you’ve been thinking about but haven’t made the time to reach out to.

• Repair that relationship with your adult child that went sideways in their teenage years.

• Call your mom or your dad and tell them you’re sorry for being distant.

• Launch that side business you’ve been thinking about for years but have been too afraid to try.

• Write that book you’ve been talking about for the last six months.

• Step outside your comfort zone and invite that person you’re interested in out for coffee already.

• Go volunteer at that charity that’s been asking for your help.

• Walk into that church you’ve passed by and been curious about every day on your way into work.

• Stop and talk to that person you see sitting on the bench every day in your neighborhood.

• Tell your partner what they really mean to you.

Every day you wake up and take breath again is a gift, and not a guarantee.

What are you going to do with the gift you’ve received today?