Every Day Deserves a Chance
By Max Lucado
Author Q&A
Max, it seems some days start out bad and move to worse. How can I give that kind of day a chance?
Suppose, neck deep in a “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day,” you resolve to give it a chance. You choose not to drink or work or worry it away, but give it a fair shake. You trust more. Stress less. Amplify gratitude. Mute grumbling. And, what do you know? Before long the day is done and surprisingly decent.
And giving every day a chance will change my life?
This is how a good life is built. That one day turns out decent, that you resolve to give the next day the same fighting chance. It arrives with its hang-ups and bang-ups, bird drops and shirt stains, but, by and large, giving the day a chance works! You do the same the next day, and the next. Days become a week. Weeks become months. Months become years of good days. In such a fashion good lives are built. One good day at a time.
Sounds like the life everyone wants. So where do I start?
Gratitude is good starting place. Gratitude lifts our eyes off the things we lack so we might see the blessings we possess. Nothing blows the winter out of the day like the Caribbean breeze of thankfulness. Measure the gifts of God. Collect your blessings. Catalogue his kindnesses. Assemble your reasons for gratitude and recite them. Gratitude is always an option.
Worry often drains the joy from my life. How do I deal with the anxiety that turns a good day bad?
The Greek word for worry, merimnao, stems from the verb merizo (divide) and nous (mind). Worry cleavers the mind, splitting thoughts between today and tomorrow. Today stands no chance against it. Fretting over tomorrow’s problems today siphons the strength you need for now, leaving you anemic and weak.
I’ve found that it helps to pray more, since no one can pray and worry at he same time. And it helps to want less, since most anxiety stems not from what we need but from what we want. You don’t have wisdom for tomorrow’s problems, but you will tomorrow. You don’t have resources for tomorrow’s needs. But you will tomorrow. You don’t have courage for tomorrow’s challenges. But you will when it comes. God meets daily needs daily and miraculously.
But doesn’t the Bible talk about each Christian needing to “carry a cross” and “bear burdens”? That doesn’t sound like a very good day.
None of us are called to carry the sin of the world (Jesus did that), but all of us can carry a burden for the world. By the way, this is a wonderful burden. Jesus said, “the load I give you to carry is light” (Mt 11:30 NCV). The cross is a good weight, a sweet debt.
Visit people in the hospital. See if you don’t leave happier than when you entered. Teach a class for kids. See if you don’t learn more than they do. Dedicate a Saturday to helping the homeless. You’ll discover this mystery: as you help others face their days, you put life in your own.
And what about just plain boring days? Endlessly dull days? Those can be good as well?
Some days move with the speed of an ice floe and the excitement of a quilting tournament. You are reliable, dependable, and, quite likely, bored. You dream of Fridays, holidays, a different family or a different job, when maybe all you need is a different attitude. Give your day a chance. Daily do a deed for which you cannot be repaid.
There is an elderly widower in your community who just lost his wife. An hour of your time would mean the world to him. Some kids in your city have no dad. No father takes them to movies or baseball games. Maybe you can. They can’t pay you back. They can’t even afford the popcorn or sodas.
Or how about this one. Down the hall from your bedroom is a person who shares your last name. Shock that person with kindness. Something extravagant. Want to snatch a day from the manacles of boredom? Do overgenerous deeds, acts beyond reimbursement. Kindness without compensation. Do a deed for which you cannot be repaid.
So this is more than an attitude adjustment?
This is more than a silver-lining attitude, more than seeing the cup as half-full rather than half-empty. This is an admission that unseen favorable forces populate and direct he affairs of humanity. When we see as God wants us to wee, we see heaven’s hand in the midst of sickness, Jesus working on a troubled youth, the Holy Spirit comforting a broken heart. We see, not what is seen, but what is unseen. We see with faith and not flesh, and since faith begets hope, we, of all people are hope-filled. For we know there is more to life than what meets the eye.
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Every Day Deserves A Chance: Wake Up to the Gift of 24 Little Hours
Max Lucado
Available May 1, 2007
Thomas Nelson Publishers
Hardcover, ISBN10: 0-8499-1959-2, ISBN13: 978-0-8499-1959-6, $19.99
Hardcover, 176 pages, 5 3/8 x 8
Religion/Christianity/Christian Life
Spanish Version: Cada Dia Merece Un Chance
ISBN10: 1-6025-5026-3, ISBN13: 978-1-6025-5026-1
Simultaneous Release, Softcover, $9.99
Teen Version: Every Day Deserves A Chance: Wake Up and Live!
ISBN10: 1-4003-1077-6
ISBN13: 978-1-4003-1007-7
Pub Date: July 10, 2007
Softcover, $10.99