“Today” | Reflection by Marsha Ackerman, Junior Warden

Then the wise, old turtle turned to the overwhelmed and frustrated panda and said, “The future is a mystery. The past is history. But today is a gift. That is why they call it the present.”

This quote comes from the children’s movie Kungfu Panda. It came out fourteen years ago and I still think of it on a regular basis. My boys love this movie for other reasons, but I cherish this sage reminder every time we see the movie.

The quote popped into my mind today as we were walking through the New York Botanical Garden with our boys. We went to see the spectacular orchid show. I feel so lucky that although they are rapidly morphing into teenagers, they still enjoy our botanical trips together exploring new and exotic plant life. The weather outside the greenhouse was a turbulent mix of snow, wind, and ice, but we were taking a rare moment together in what felt like a tropical paradise. We breathed in the humid air and wrapped ourselves in the beauty of the orchids. Before you get the wrong impression of our daily life…the rest of the day was filled with “Are we there yet?’, “What’s for dinner?”, and “Can I have extra screen time?” – but at least for those couple of hours we were able to remove ourselves from the stresses of daily life and enjoy those moments of beauty. A garden doesn’t all bloom at once. God made it so that while some things are withering and dying, others are at their most beautiful. For me, I must remind myself to choose to see the blooms amid the rest. Today, and every day, holds a moment of grace if I can pause long enough to see it.