The last few weeks of school, I was so DONE I soon found myself grasping for the future—wishing my life away.
On Monday, I was looking forward to going out to eat Tuesday morning with my friend. On Tuesday, I was just wishing my final exam would be over. Then I was looking forward to pre-commencement service dinners, an awards ceremony, and going camping with family the next day.
Do you ever do this?
You’re in a moment, but wishing for the next moment.
After realizing I’ve been doing this, I made a promise to myself.
A promise that I’d savor the NOW and stop wishing for the THEN.
If I’m always sitting in church, just wishing to be in Sunday School with coffee and mini croissants and good small group discussions, I’m missing out on what God is trying to get into my thick skull during the sermon.
If I’m at work, just barely hanging on, waiting for the moment I can clock out and go home to keep working on the magazine, I’m missing out on the opportunity to encourage customers by giving them great service and listening to my coworkers’ plans for the next week.
If each day is simply a step to the next day, I’m living in the FUTURE. And that’s no way to live!
So, I want to encourage you guys . . .
- Your high school years aren’t merely a transition period to college
- You don’t have to be wishing you were
- Married now or
- Making more money or
- “Making a bigger difference” or
- That your side business were bigger
It’s time to put your ALL into the NOW, not the NEXT.
As Emily Dickinson so poignantly put it, “Forever is composed of now’s.”
Yes, this stage, this moment might be SO SUPER BORING. But God has written it into your story for a reason. Unlike human writers, God’s “boring details” DO move the plot line. Whereas we have to cutout the minutia, God can use even 50-minute-class-periods to change the world.
So—close your eyes. Breathe a deep breath. Take note of the smells, the sounds. Take in all the sights.
Savor the now.
