Living In The Moment

“I can’t wait for the weekend.”

“Why does it have to be Monday?”

“Won’t it be great when our daughter begins walking?!”

“I look forward to the day when our son can drive.”

“Retirement can’t come soon enough.”

I’ve heard myself say the above statements at one point or another in my life.

I was pretty good at living in the future.

I was so focused on the next thing, the next monumental stage in my children’s lives, the next part of my journey, the next day or the weekend coming up, that I had a hard time appreciating life as it was happening right in front of me.

I wasn’t living in the moment.

Every now and then, I catch myself falling back into that habit.

Just this week, I was so immersed in the thoughts about upcoming events in my life that I let slip past me a very important day in my son’s life… his last day of His Junior year in high school.

Oh, I knew it was his last day, and I even took pictures of him leaving our home that morning. But by the end of the day, my focus was on future things, and I forgot to even ask how his last day was. I did ask him later–when I remembered–but I missed a wonderful moment right after school.

(All too often lately I’ve been getting Zach’s hand as I take his picture. I’m still going to take them, hand and all. His Senior scrapbook might just be be filled with more pictures of his long-fingered hand than of his handsome face.)

But back to the subject at hand, why do I do this?? Am I the only one?

I believe God allows these kinds of things to happen to wake us up. To help us realize something needs to change. This was certainly a wake up call for me.

I’ve determined to be intentional at living in the moment.

To appreciate life as it’s happening in front of me. Living for today. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not next month. TODAY.

After all, Psalm 118:24 says, “THIS is the day the Lord has made…” It’s doesn’t say “Tomorrow is the day…” We may never have tomorrow, so why try to live in a day that we may never receive??

Friends, we have been given the gift of this day. Today, and the moments that fill it, are too important to miss. We’ll never get the opportunity to live it again.

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Blessings,
Julie