JANUARY 30, 2026

  “You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave...Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. ” 

― Henry David Thoreau

EXODUS 22-24

21“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.

22“Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. 23If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.(22:21-22)

MATTHEW 20:17-34

24When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,27and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

JOURNAL 

Today is its own life. It is not a waiting room for tomorrow or a shadow of yesterday. What I do with this day is the only place where love can actually move, where goodness can actually spread. When I let worry about the future take over, I drift away from the people and needs right in front of me. Ambition and plans are useful, but they must never replace the simple calling to care, serve, and notice.

The words about protecting the vulnerable and the call of Jesus to choose the place of a servant both pull me back to this moment. Greatness is not somewhere out ahead of me. It is hidden inside ordinary acts of mercy and humility offered now. Every interaction is a chance either to add light to the world or to leave shadows untouched.

I write these things down because I forget how sacred an ordinary day really is. When life is difficult I want to escape it, and when life is easy I am tempted to coast through it. Both steal the same treasure. Today holds the opportunity to connect heart to heart, to encourage someone who is weary, to stand beside someone who feels alone. That is how the spirit of goodness moves outward and the spirit of darkness loses ground.

Freedom is not permission to drift into myself. It is the power to give myself away in love. To love my neighbor is to treat this day as precious and active, to spend it building connection instead of postponing it. If I want to see more light in the world, it begins with fully living the life that is in front of me right now.

13You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh^a ; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^b 

GALATIANS 5:13-15