No doubt where I am in this stage of life has something to do with my focus on the future rather than the past. My future is shorter than my past. I’ve probably lived two-thirds or three-quarters of my life—or maybe much more. No one knows the number of her days except God. But I’m confident that my number of days remaining on this earth is less than the number I’ve lived already—unless God chooses to make me the oldest woman alive or something like that!

Maybe, like me, you’re coming to grips with the reality that you’re facing a shorter future than you would like. Perhaps you’re facing a future as a single person, or so it seems, and you are fearful of not having a companion or mate. Your unknown could be some health issues that are worrying you, or some job issues. What is it about your future that concerns you?

I am not a strategic thinker. I just try to keep my head above water and get done what needs to be done each day. So, it’s not my nature to think about what life will be like in five years or ten years or twenty years. I’ve had more or less the idea that things will always be the way they are, and I’ll keep going forever. One of my favorite comebacks is “age is only a number,” meaning don’t think about it. Just keep going for Jesus.

I’m glad God made me that way, and I fully intend to keep going for Jesus. But as the number of years has continued to pile up, and as I’ve watched others even younger than me face death, and as my knee hurts sometimes, and my hair gets thinner and I forget things I never used to forget, I can no longer ignore the reality that I won’t live forever. There is no guarantee that I’ll even be here tomorrow. And furthermore, it’s mostly out of my control.

And that kind of thinking can rob my peace very easily. It’s the kind of mild depression that you don’t share with anyone very much, but it’s there. I don’t know what the future holds; I don’t know the number of my days, and when I allow my mind to go to the unknowns, my peace doesn’t flow like a river.

So, what do I mean by making peace with your future? I’m talking about making peace with the unknown. Becoming comfortable not knowing. And no matter what stage of life you are now in—no matter how many days are left for you on this earth—we all share a common discomfort about our future, do we not? I think it’s safe to say we all harbor some fear of the future.

For many of us, living in the unknown often can feel worse than receiving actual bad news. At least we know what the bad news is. But wondering when “the other shoe will fall,” letting your mind conjure up all kinds of possibilities of what the future might hold, can steal your peace faster than anything else.

Here’s the thing: You might as well make peace with your future since no amount of fear or discomfort or anxiety or your need to conquer the unknown will change the fact that the unknown is exactly that—unknown and unknowable. No person, no test, no new scientific discovery can cure you of “Unknownaphobia”!

Have you caught that disease—Unknownaphobia? Do you need to make peace with your future—peace with the unknown? Well, let me give you a few suggestions—things that have helped me make peace with my future.

Learn to Live in Today

Jesus gave us this advice:

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34).

Jesus gives us the grace to handle today—not yesterday or tomorrow, just today. Unknownaphobia is a result of worrying about tomorrow—that’s the root cause. Why don’t you memorize this verse and just quote it to yourself several times a day. Mary, don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

You’re thinking “But it’s not that simple.”  Yes, it is. Simple—not easy—but simple. You must apply God’s Word, God’s truth to what you’re facing—right then at the moment you’re going through it.