Straight from the Heart: Orthodox Bible Study with Father Lawrence

There is an old bumper-sticker aphorism that reads, "Each day is a gift; that's why we call it 'the present'.  Though corny (most aphorisms on bumper-stickers are), it is nonetheless true.  When we survey each day once it has gone past, we find it contains a number of things, some beautiful (the smell of flowers, the taste of coffee, the sight of a child's smile), some ugly (stupidity in traffic and other people reacting to that stupidity with road rage), and a multitude of other things which lie somewhere in between.  When we close our eyes at night and look forward to tomorrow, we might dismiss the day past as "just another ordinary day", and miss what a gift it truly was.  If that is the way we fall asleep, it is a nightly tragedy.

For suppose that the day past was the last one we would receive, and after we closed our eyes at night in bed we would die in our sleep, and only open our eyes after death, in the Kingdom.  We would then begin to realize how precious that flower was that we passed by so quickly and smelt so briefly, how delicious that last cup of coffee actually tasted, how radiant was the smile on that child.  As G.K. Chesterton said somewhere, Robinson Crusoe came to appreciate all the little things he managed to salvage from the wreck of his ship, because he might not have salvaged them, and he would miss if they were not there.  In the same way, each day is crammed with divine gifts that we would miss if they were not there.

God gives us now a new year, filled with 365 days.  That is, He give us 365 dawns, 365 sunsets, 365 opportunities to smell the flowers, and taste the coffee and bask in the radiance of another's smile.  A true gift indeed.