Recently, I was re-reading one of my very favorite books, Mrs. Mike, the story of Katherine Mary Flannigan, a young girl from Boston who moved to the Canadian wilderness to live with her Uncle & ended up falling in love with Sergeant Mike Flannigan of the Canadian Mounted Police. Together, they experienced the hardships & adventures of life, & the story truly made me fall in love with reading! My Mom introduced me to this book when I was probably in Middle School, if not younger, & I've loved it ever since. It's an old book, with a copyright date of 1947, which adds to its charm! Last Christmas, my Mom surprised me with my very own copy, from 1947 & all. I was so excited! (Side note! If you're looking for old books, out of print books, rare books, any kind of book, check out AbeBooks.com. It's fantastic! This is where my Mom was able to find my Mrs. Mike!) But back to the story...So, recently I have been reading this book again. It's a bit like comfort food, a piece of home in this foreign country. But the other day, I found something there that I hadn't seen before! As I laid in bed, reading to take my mind off things, two pieces of paper fell out of the back of the book. On one piece, which I could tell was old because it was yellowed, there were notes written in a woman's handwriting. The other paper had a typed message on it entitled "God's Day." I think that I got goosebumps! With all that was on my mind at the time & all that I seemed to be worrying about, this literally falls into my lap out of a book from the '40s! And the message is wonderful...
God's Day
"There are two days in the week upon which & about which I never worry -- two carefree days kept sacredly free from fear & apprehension. One of these days is Yesterday. Yesterday, with its cares & frets & pains & aches, all its faults, its mistakes & blunders, has passed forever beyond my recall. It was mine; it is God's.
The other day that I do not worry about is Tomorrow. Tomorrow, with all its possible adversities, its burdens, its perils, its large promise & performance, its failures & mistakes, is s far beyond my mastery as its dead sister, Yesterday. Tomorrow is God's day; it will be mine. There is left, then, for myself but one day in the week -- Today. Any person can fight the battles of today. Any woman can carry the burdens of just one day; any man can resist the temptation of today. It is only when we willfully add the burdens of these two awful eternities -- Yesterday & Tomorrow -- such burdens as only the Mighty God can sustain -- that we break down.
It isn't the experience of Today that drives people mad. It is the remorse of what happened Yesterday & fear of what Tomorrow might bring. These are God's Days ... Leave them to Him."
How wonderful is that! And how true! And to me, familiar, as I remember my incredible Mom sharing a very similar thought with me when I was young, & worried about something... She told me God has already been to Tomorrow. He has walked there already, He has seen what is to come, He knows just what it will bring; Tomorrow is not unknown to everyone :) And by trusting in God, who knows all of our Tomorrows, we are trusting in Him who can perfectly lead us through each day of our life. I think about this often, & cling to it when I worry. And my Mom too!
So, thank you to the woman who slipped the thoughts of "God's Day" into her copy of Mrs. Mike long ago. It fell into my lap when I needed to be reminded of it the most. Thank you to my wonderful & brilliant Mom who has shared comforting thoughts with me since I was so young. And thank you, God, for carrying my Yesterdays & my Tomorrows for me!
