Published February 18, 2024

by Andy Berges

 

"It's a brand new world today!" 

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That was how I was greeted by an elderly woman one morning 30+ years ago when my mind was consumed with thoughts of gloom.

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It was a profound statement that forever changed my perspective on life.

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This frail woman in a wheelchair who had a nasal cannula in her nostrils to help her breathe was in her 80s and nearing her end on Earth – yet she was smiling and feeling hopeful about the day ahead. Meanwhile, there I was in my 20s with my whole life ahead of me feeling depressed about a temporary problem.

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It’s as if God put her in my path that particular day to transform my thoughts and make me realize that my problems were not as bad as I made them out to be.

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The thoughts of despair I was overwhelmed with were immediately replaced with thoughts of hope after hearing those six words of hers.

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Jesus forewarned all of us that, “In this world we will have trouble.” We all experience challenging days throughout our lives when we wish today was tomorrow. However, we need to keep those days to a minimum because our lives are extremely fleeting and the "todays" in our lives are few.

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During those occasional challenging days, we need to keep Isaiah 41:10 in mind – “Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”

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Ever since I encountered the woman that morning, I’ve awoken every morning with feelings of gratitude no matter what my problems may be at the time. I keep in mind that countless people throughout the world lived their final day of life on Earth yesterday and I thank God every morning for giving me another day of life.

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While we all experience dark days throughout our lives, our sunny days will far outnumber the dark ones.

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Each new sunrise offers us a new beginning in our lives. Those of us who have many mornings remaining on Earth to look forward to should be grateful, no matter what trials and tribulations we may be battling.

 

Every morning we need to thank God for blessing us with another day of life. As Psalm 118:24 reminds us, "This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." - and as a wise elderly woman living in her twilight years once stated, “It’s a brand new world today!”