Living in the Moment
"This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24 (NASB)
As an adult, there is a certain amount of planning involved in order to responsibly care for your home and family. Someone has to keep track of birthdays, appointments, planning meals, etc., and in my household that is me! Recently though, God has been teaching me that I get so caught up in the "next thing" that I don't take time to enjoy the moment I am in.
Take a look at children. Watch them as they build with legos, play in the sandbox, or eat a big piece of chocolate cake. They are fully engaged in the moment. They aren't thinking ahead to the next thing they have to do. They aren't worrying about all the "What if's" that the future holds. They are enjoying the moment.
So, I've been working on adjusting my mindset. Yes, my to-do list still beckons me night and day. But while I am working on those tasks, I've tried to enjoy the moment - praising God for the little and big things He is doing in my life. Things like thanking God for cool breezes as I'm jogging in the morning, laughing and enjoying time with friends instead of guiltily thinking of all the things that need to get done at home, and admiring sunsets as I finish up the last of the dinner dishes at night.
God has given us each moment we have. Let's enjoy them!
Printer-friendly version
Send to friend
Comments
Good reminder!
I realized the other day that I miss a LOT of enjoyment because the pain (whichever "pain" that might be) in the present moment, typically, prompts me to complain instead of realizing the pain isn't the only thing happening in the present moment -- plenty else is going on. I had my hip replaced back in December and now that it has healed I can do so much more without any pain. So sometimes when I just swing my legs into the car or walk straight up the stairs or bend down to pull a weed, a thrill of joy shoots through my body that I can do so much more than was comfortable before surgery. I know all the rest of the ingredients of that moment are the same except for the pain and I am so thankful for it all but I realize that the only reason I wasn't thankful before was because I was so wrapped up in MYself. And I can see that the grumbling I tend to do falls into the same category--it is just a mechanism that keeps my mind in the wrong place and thus hides from me the wonder of God's presence in my life and His constant love and grace which make all things new, even this very moment.
Karen B.