Before Tomorrow

Carrying a baby, a toddler, and a backpack, I boarded the train. It was early July of 2003, and I was heading out to see my parents in New York for a week. Steve had decided to stay home and work so that we could save his precious few vacation days for later in the year.

We had boarded at ten o'clock at night, so after the novelty of the train whistle wore off, the kids rubbed their eyes and buried themselves under the covers. Thankful that I had spent the extra money for a sleeper car (even if it was about the size of a coat closet), I pillowed my blanket beneath my head and watched the city lights dance past my window.

"Oh, shoot!" I clearly remember thinking, "I forgot to make that call again!" I knew that a relative of mine had been struggling lately, and God had laid that phone call on my heart weeks earlier. But time after time and reminder after reminder, I had chosen to Do It Later.

I didn't have a cell phone at that time in my life, so I resolved to finally make the call when I got back to Wisconsin.

I was in New York for only a day or two before getting the news. He was gone. The depression and anxiety that he had battled for years had brought him to a desperate place.

I was beyond crushed. I remember stretching myself across my mother's bed and letting the grief crash through me. I couldn't believe the finality of it.

The pain of the phone call that never happened was agonizing. It wasn't that I thought I could have changed anything. It wasn't that I thought that he was gone because I didn't call. It was that God had clearly led me to reach out and touch this man who I loved so much, and it had never been important enough to me to make it to the number one spot on my priority list.

What if I had followed through? Most likely the events would not have changed, but I would have. I would have known that I had told him how much he meant to me. I would have known that he knew he was important to me.

And most importantly, I would have been obedient. Obedient, and blessed because of it. God didn't ask me to call him so that I wouldn't do it and would feel bad about it later. He asked me to call him so that I would call him. I chose not to. Because of that choice, there is a regret within me that did not have to be there.

Has God laid it on your heart to say something to someone you love? Has He asked you to contact someone, or write a note of encouragement? Has He asked you to mend a broken relationship? Don't wait until you have nothing better to do. Do it now.

None of us are guaranteed tomorrow.