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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for December 1, 2010
“This Is My Last Day Alive”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
“This is my last day alive.”
That’s what Emily Colson told herself.
Emily is the daughter of Chuck Colson, the founder of Prison Fellowship who became famous while working in the Nixon Administration.
Emily got married and gave birth to her son Max, who turned out to be severely autistic. It took a toll on the marriage, which finally ended in a painful divorce.
By the time Max was nine, Emily said they were basically hostages of autism. She said, “We could barely get out of the house without tantrums, so it was easier just to stay home and stop trying.” Life was so difficult, she said, she wasn’t even sleeping.
Late one night she decided to get up and clean, hoping it would help her relax. She said, “I opened up a closet door, the shelf broke, and all the bottles spilled out onto the floor.”
“That just finished me,” she said. “I took that door, and I swung it so hard that I ended up putting a hole right through the wall.”
Have you ever been there? Have you ever been so angry, so frustrated, so at the end of your rope that you were ready to take it out on whatever was close?
That’s where Emily was, and she said it was a real wake up call.
She said she couldn’t imagine living that way for the rest of her life. “I couldn’t even do it for another week,” she said.
But then she came to this conclusion. She said, “Maybe what I can do is one more day.”
Then she said, “If I can do one day, I’m going to live that day big and brave and bold.”
Of course she was saying all that in the middle of the night, right after her little wake up call of smashing a hole in the wall. You can plan to be big and brave and bold, but what happens the next day when the same old life is waiting for you? After all, Max wasn’t going anywhere. Short of a miracle, tomorrow would be just as bad as today; so what did she do?
She woke up the next morning and declared, “This is my last day alive. What am I going to do with it?”
And listen to this. Here’s what she said about this new approach to her life.
“It changed everything.”
What it really changed was her outlook on everything. She started telling herself things like, “Am I going to care if people stare at us when Max has a tantrum? Am I going to care if the day doesn’t go well? Or am I going to find the joy because it is one day?”
Emily and Max have been living that way for about ten years now, and it’s truly been a life changer. They are no longer “hostages of autism.” Emily says, “I take Max places. We do things. We don’t let our circumstances define our lives.”
Maybe you find yourself in difficult circumstances today. Maybe you are thinking, like Emily, “I can’t do this for the rest of my life. I can’t even do it for another week.” But surely you can do it for one more day.
Try the attitude that Emily took. Wake up tomorrow and say, “This is my last day alive. What am I going to do with it?”
It reminds me of the old song “One Day at a Time” by Cristy Lane and others. It says, “One day at a time, sweet Jesus, that’s all I’m asking from You. Just give me the strength to do everyday what I have to do. Yesterday’s gone, sweet Jesus, and tomorrow may never be mine. Lord help me today, show me the way, one day at a time.”
That goes along with what Jesus said in Matthew 6:34. He said don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
James 4:14 says, “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”
I’ve heard messages like this where the emphasis was on, “Hey, we might as well eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die!”
But that’s not the point. There was a man in Luke chapter 12 who said something like that. He said to himself, “You have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” And what did God say to him? He said, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you...” And Jesus concluded, “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
So yes, we don’t worry about tomorrow. We take one day at a time, but not so we can waste it. We use it to love and serve God and our fellowman.
So is the big picture crushing you? Can you imagine living this way the rest of your life, or even for another week?
If not, then how about a day, just one day?
This is a new outlook on life that changed everything for Emily Colson, so why not try it for yourself?
Just declare along with Emily, “This is my last day alive. What am I going to do with it?”
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
You can find out more about Emily Colson at her website: http://emilycolson.com/
© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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