here and now
our family will be moving soon. by soon, i don't know when. i don't even know where to. but we will be moving. this makes me terribly sad, but at the same time, i am excited about what is to come and taking this big step with my husband and two boys. very soon, we will be finding out the details of when and where, but for now, all i know is that we are moving. some days i am anxious and want to know now (!) so i can start planning and thinking, but i know that the moment second i found out, i will no longer live in today. my mind and my heart will start to transition to that next place. so, i am resolved to enjoy this not knowing because it means my heart remains here, at home, a place i love, and my mind can rest in today's gifts.
i was convicted a couple of years ago to stop using the phrase "i can't wait...". there's nothing wrong with the phrase, but for me, i realized it is a tricky place to dwell. if i'm always thinking about and living for the next thing to come, i am not living today. and that is sad. i'm not very good at living in today. i find myself replaying conversations in my head from days ago and thinking about events to come. it's pretty natural, isn't it?
it is funny how life constantly pulls you back and forth from hurrying up time and slowing it down (as if what we wanted really matters...each day has 24 hours in it, just like the day before...). i find this especially true in the military world. hurry, hurry, i want my husband to be home! wait, wait, slow down, time, my husband is scheduled to leave in a week! and back and forth we go. while our family has numerous countdowns going right now, i am committed to refusing to "can't wait" my way through them! i can wait for my husband to finish his current training, i can wait for this baby to be born, i can wait to find out where we are moving to. i can and i will. because, before i know it, 30 more years will pass and i will be wishing back time.
ironically, as christians, there is a "can't wait" mentaility we are supposed to have. a longing for heaven, our true home. i admit that i don't live with that mindset 99% of the time. i am quite content in this temporary and imperfect world. in his well-known book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote, "Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither". my sites should be set on the glory that awaits. not only will it give me a truer perspective of earth, but it will motivate me to live differently while i am here.
oh, Lord, help me live in the here and now, with a longing for the home that awaits me always in the forefront of my mind. let that longing change the way i see my day-to-day activities. may it help me view the joys in this life as gracious blessings from a Giver of good gifts. may it enable me to see the letdowns of this world as a brokenness that will remain until Christ's coming. may it fuel me to live with greater passion and zeal to see Your kingdom come.
i was convicted a couple of years ago to stop using the phrase "i can't wait...". there's nothing wrong with the phrase, but for me, i realized it is a tricky place to dwell. if i'm always thinking about and living for the next thing to come, i am not living today. and that is sad. i'm not very good at living in today. i find myself replaying conversations in my head from days ago and thinking about events to come. it's pretty natural, isn't it?
it is funny how life constantly pulls you back and forth from hurrying up time and slowing it down (as if what we wanted really matters...each day has 24 hours in it, just like the day before...). i find this especially true in the military world. hurry, hurry, i want my husband to be home! wait, wait, slow down, time, my husband is scheduled to leave in a week! and back and forth we go. while our family has numerous countdowns going right now, i am committed to refusing to "can't wait" my way through them! i can wait for my husband to finish his current training, i can wait for this baby to be born, i can wait to find out where we are moving to. i can and i will. because, before i know it, 30 more years will pass and i will be wishing back time.
ironically, as christians, there is a "can't wait" mentaility we are supposed to have. a longing for heaven, our true home. i admit that i don't live with that mindset 99% of the time. i am quite content in this temporary and imperfect world. in his well-known book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote, "Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither". my sites should be set on the glory that awaits. not only will it give me a truer perspective of earth, but it will motivate me to live differently while i am here.
oh, Lord, help me live in the here and now, with a longing for the home that awaits me always in the forefront of my mind. let that longing change the way i see my day-to-day activities. may it help me view the joys in this life as gracious blessings from a Giver of good gifts. may it enable me to see the letdowns of this world as a brokenness that will remain until Christ's coming. may it fuel me to live with greater passion and zeal to see Your kingdom come.
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