I haven’t been living each day as God intended. Although I try my best, I’m not perfect. It’s easy to get caught up in the motions of each day. But with the due date of my second child quickly approaching, I find myself slowing down and stopping to enjoy every moment with my daughter. Everything will soon change, for the better, but Willow doesn’t know that. Everything she’s ever known will be different. She’s been an only child for 2½ years. She’ll have to learn to cope with the adjustments. I can only prepare her so much for the big day, and we don’t even really know when that will be. The due date is just a prediction; only God knows when this beautiful life will enter the world. 

And that got me thinking—as much as I don’t want to think about it—only God knows when everything will end. Each day we are blessed to have is a day He is preparing us for our last physical breath on Earth, only to give us something greater—eternal life. With this change, our lives and the lives of our loved ones will be shifted. Everything we’ve ever known will change, and we can choose to be angry, demanding to know why, blaming God for something we will all eventually go through, or we can praise Him, celebrating the new life our loved one was given. It’s a devastating reality when the end comes, but that is exactly why we should rejoice, embrace each day we’re given, make the most of our lives, and truly live. 

What a blessing it is to wake up every morning, to see the sun rise and set again, to go through the day feeling God’s hand on our simple human lives. The kindness of a stranger, the sweet sound of a child’s laughter, the melodic song of a bird, the vibrant color of a flower, all the things that God created. I’ll admit, some days it’s challenging to see the beauty, especially when nothing seems to be going right, when darkness feels stronger than light, when the news and social media are flooded with everything that’s wrong in the world. But it’s so important to understand that God gave us this day; we owe it to Him to fill it with all things pleasing unto Him. I know sometimes it’s easier to give in to the negative energy, but we need to look through the darkness for that shining beacon. God’s word will get us as close to Him as we can get on Earth. 

As someone who’s been through the depths of darkness, I promise you there is nothing but destruction in negativity. The closer you get to God, the easier it is to find the blessings in each day. Your heart, your spirit, your mind, your body will thank you for standing against the darkness. It’s not easy. Freeing myself from those shackles was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done because I didn’t know I was trapped. But God was there, He never left me. I just lost sight of Him the deeper I sank. His light was always burning, I just had to open my eyes.

Each day is a struggle. Within those struggles are choices that need to be made. We can fight or we can surrender. We can focus on God or forget He gave us this day. We can fall into darkness or embrace God’s blessings. And each day we have to choose whether we’re going to live or die because if we aren’t living for God, we are dying in darkness.