Revelation.

After hearing that my church was studying the first chapter of the Book of Revelation, I decided to join them by reading it myself. For as long as I can remember, I have seen the uneasy look on the faces of people when this part of The Bible is mentioned. And, to be quite honest, I never understood the meaning for the anxiety and fear felt by many that have read and/or studied this book. It is possible, I suppose, that my opinions concerning this issue will change as I grow older. All that matters, though, is how I feel about it today, as we are only given one day at a time. Today could be the best day of my life. Today could also be the last day of my life. And, I am going to use this day, as well as all that will hopefully follow, doing, saying, or writing something worth remembering. I will not worry about tomorrow. I will not be afraid.

Why is it that people generally fear most what is unknown to them? How is that any different than a child being afraid of monsters under his or her bed? When I was little, I remember how hesitant I was each night to turn the lights off in my bedroom. The switch to my lights was by my doorway, while my bed was all the way across the room. I would wait until the very last minute to flip the light switch, run like a madman to my bed, and hop onto the mattress before any monsters could reach out from under my bed and grab my ankles. As an adult, it seems a bit foolish. But, the more I think about it, the more I see that many adults act daily just as I did before bedtime as a child. Many people, including myself, are guilty for putting off today what can be done tomorrow. The people that do this the most are probably, I'd think, the same people that are afraid of the prophecies found in the final book of The Bible. While I'm sure everybody has their own reasons for procrastinating, I have come to find that the root of it is almost always fear, whether it be fear of failure, fear of rejection, or fear of regret. We, as human beings, generally find it difficult to make decisions, as we always wonder how today's actions will affect us tomorrow, next week, or next year. At 22 years of age, I have already been lectured by professors about planning for retirement. This seems a bit ridiculous, really, seeing as I have yet to begin a career. It is rare for one to make any sort of decision without first hesitating, even if only for a second. And, I feel that those that hesitate are the ones that miss out on whatever lesson they are meant to learn. What if one moment of hesitation derails one's entire fate? Following a plan is not the same thing as living, regardless of the amount of success that could result from a thoroughly thought out plan. We make plans to avoid failure. Like I said, adults are not as different from children as they would like to believe. Some of us make plans to avoid imaginary monsters, and some of us make plans to avoid ever seeing the monsters that may very well lie inside each of us.

The Book of Revelation is the only book in The Bible that promises a blessing to its reader. Why should anything else matter? Believe it. Believe in kept promises. Believe that it is worth it to seize the day. Then, go out into the world and do just that. For centuries, poets and prophets have urged people to grab each new day by the hand and do something beautiful with it. And, for centuries, people have continued to sweep today's possibilities under tomorrow's rug. Tomorrow never comes, nor does a second chance at yesterday. Today is all that we have. So, learn from your mistakes. Do everything you do to the best of your ability. Be good to others. Be good to yourself. And, learn to embrace your failures.... because it sure beats the hell out of not trying. God will take care of the rest.