Part of being human is constantly fighting between nostalgia for the past and a longing for the future. We are told to somehow overwhelm both feelings with contentment for the NOW . . . but it’s hard. Especially if your now isn’t exactly dreamy.
My Instagram feed is full of people “living their best life.” They’re eating smoothie bowls for breakfast, working out every day, and living in a perfectly curated apartment. There’s a little part of me that says “When will I feel like I could make a ‘living my best life’ reel? Will I ever??”
Right now, you’re surrounded by girls getting boyfriends, college degrees, rings, and positive pregnancy tests. Maybe you have a couple of these but are craving the next step. Or maybe you have none of these, and you’re wondering when it will be your time.
So . . . how do we stay content with the right now?
The other day, after hearing another story about an engagement, I was hit with this overwhelming feeling of . . . contentment. That’s probably not how you thought that sentence would end, huh? 😉 I just wanted to go back to my apartment, turn on some music, and make my dinner with the lights turned down low.
God gave me this beautiful gift: the reminder that now is not forever, and that makes every now precious. Because I won’t always be in my precious 400-sq-ft apartment, cooking in the tiniest space conceivable.
I won’t always be able to drop everything and do a thirty-minute Bible study. I won’t be able to take a whole evening to do self care.
The season of singleness can be so self-centered, but if you’re wise about it it can also be very growing and resetting. And whatever season you’re in, it’s a gift. I know you hear this on every women’s Bible account, but take a moment to let that sink in.
You’re craving life after college; life after marriage; life AFTER. But maybe one of the biggest lessons God is trying to teach us throughout life is to stop living in the AFTER, in the LATER, and start living NOW.
Because life is made up of NOWs (“Life is Composed of Nows” — Emily Dickinson), not LATERS.
What life is like after college
“Okay,” You might be saying. “But if I could just finish college, I can finally be free to do life my way!!”
Here’s the truth.
I was ready for college for a long time: I was basically ready to be done with high school as soon as I started. Then, as soon as I started college, I craved life after college.
Well, let me tell you: it’s everything you think it’ll be.
And not.
Yes, you get to be on your own. You get your own place, your own schedule. But with that comes immense responsibility. It’s weird to know that if I don’t get groceries this weekend, no one is going to do it for me. If I don’t do the dishes or make the coffee or clean the floor . . . it won’t get done, PERIOD.
And with that also comes the responsibility of failure. When you’re under someone else’s roof, it’s easy to become passive. You think “Oh man, when I’m just on my own, THEN I’ll finally wake up super early and workout. I’ll do 5am devotions and prayer sessions. THEN I’ll start that YouTube channel and live my best life.”
But when you’re on your own, you’re still the same person. Just with less restrictions.
So, when you wake up a year and a half later and you’re still not living your best life, are you ready to deal with the weight of that?
^^^ This is a true story btw.
So live your best life now. Because nothing, really, is standing in your way.
Some wisdom from dear Emily Dickinson …
Forever – is composed of Nows –
‘Tis not a different time –
Except for Infiniteness –
And Latitude of Home –
From this – experienced Here –
Remove the Dates – to These –
Let Months dissolve in further Months –
And Years – exhale in Years –
Without Debate – or Pause –
Or Celebrated Days –
No different Our Years would be
From Anno Dominies –
