This Day

Only Tuesday? Today is day four of a seven day stretch for me. It's not that I don't feel like going to work so much as I want to linger over another cup of coffee and enjoy the Christmas decorations. Maybe read a couple of books. Then I'll go to work! Well, that plan won't work so I guess I will finish this cup of coffee and get moving. Today will be a long one for me because this evening I am going to an Advent service at my sister's church.
And not really only Tuesday anyway. Today is Pearl Harbor Day. The 9/11 of a different generation. 2500 Americans died, 4 battleships were sunk and much of the Navy fleet of the United States was damaged. The United States was plunged into war. All of those years ago people awoke, had another cup of coffee and planned their day. Christmas baking and shopping were more likely to be on the mind of women than getting ready for work. But no one planned to wake up to destruction and death.
It makes me think about the fragile plans of men and women. Where's my green sweater, what to pack for lunch, the meetings I will attend. All of it important but only if I have planned everything first in consideration of my position in the world I occupy. Have I planned to pray for the soldiers who sleep that they will not come under attack? Have I prayed for the wisdom of leaders who will guide us? Have I settled my heart enough that I will not wage war but act with wisdom?
It's so easy to grab a cup of coffee and run out the door feeling rushed and frantic. So natural to be reactive instead of proactive. But after all of my meetings are done, there are more Christmases behind than ahead of me in life and I've no where to rush to in the morning; I want to spend my mornings wherever I am with a peaceful and settled heart. If I've done well, perhaps there will be younger people speaking of us as the "greatest generation", the ones who lived through 9/11 and built something better and finer from the ashes. Generations are not defined by the events they survived but by the manner in which they lived.
A day that will live in infamy or just an ordinary day soon forgotten, this day is new. I can't wait for the bombs to start dropping before I decide what the day is for.
After all, today we are building tomorrow.