The art of living in the present

"The past is history, the future is a mystery, the moment is a gift...that's why it's called the present"

I'm not sure where that quotation originated, but it's one of those little gems that has stuck with me for a long time. 

Often times we get lost in the past. Lost in the what if's and the shoulda, woulda, coulda... And though I agree that the past should not be ignored it is of utmost importance to not allow yourself to get so lost in it that you miss the moment. Take it for what it's worth; a lesson to learn from and apply in the future.

On the contrary there are some who get lost in the future, myself included. We are the kind of people who live in the what will be. Always reaching for the future and longing for that time when things will change and get better... that is no way to live either. The danger is that you lose sight of the now. You become blind to what is right there in front of you and you forget how to appreciate the gifts that have been graciously placed before you.

This longing for the future has some serious consequences in my life. Tendencies of being incredibly hard on myself increase. Not that being hard on yourself is all bad, but if you take it to a certain level you forget what truly matters in life. And what truly matters is faith, family, and friends...pretty simple really. I also have tendencies to sell myself short because I'm wanting the future to happen so badly that I am not patient enough to wait and allow it to happen. I could probably go on, but no need to bear all...

To sum it up, try and live passionately...and do so in the present because that's what has been given to you. Don't save it for another day and don't think of all the times you lived passionately...that was then and this is now. Embrace it and never allow anything to get between you and the truly important things in life... your faith, family, and friends. If your world is turned upside down those three things will prevail. Your job, judgements, monetary assets, etc. cannot live up to that nor do they hold the power to sustain you.

Standing in complete awe

After going through a bit of a dry spell I cannot help but be utterly and completely blown away by His mercy and grace. These past couple days have got me thinking that I should be careful what I pray for because I was not ready for things to work themselves out like this, but they have. He loves me and leaves me in absolute awe of Him! I just cannot seem to wrap my little mind around it.

The sermon at Grace Point yesterday could have not been more fitting or perfect for what I am struggling with right now. Jeff is doing a series he is calling 60/60 where the concept is for everyone to pray every hour on the hour following the concept that we may become one that the world may know. The prayer is specific for the week based on the topic that he is preaching on and yesterday it just so happened to be called "I Admit." The sermon addressed that we need to be able to discover the root of our desires, then identify the disconnect of those desires, and lastly we need to focus on returning to the heart of God. Nothing could have been more perfect or relevant for me to hear. Because it is a personal struggle I woke up this morning reluctant to set my hourly reminder and pray "I admit..." every hour on the hour, but I did. My reluctance to pray the prayer was quenched by the following verse that I have been carrying around in my pocket for over a week now:

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
~1 Corinthians 10:13 ~

So I started praying the prayer at 8am this morning and repeated a muffled prayer or utterance of, "I admit..." every hour following. Admitting your struggle even if it's only between you and God can be quite intimidating and frightening, because it means that you acknowledge the wrong in it, the so called disconnect. I did not think things would work themselves out as quickly as they did, but they did. My prayers were answered. It's not easy, but the first step to fighting this struggle of mine has been taken and I feel like God carried me through it. Actually I know He did. I cried today, and will probably cry some more, but I feel comforted and loved by Him...