Living in the Moment

"Somebody is in the hospital begging God for the opportunity you have right now. Step into your moment."  -TD Jakes

 

My husband found this quote yesterday, and it inspired me.

How much of life do we take for granted? How often do we forget to step into the moment and instead spend them longing for either the past or the future? God has really laid this concept on my heart the past few months. This must mean he is trying to teach me something! 

I realized a few months back, that I had spent most of my life wanting to be in my next stage of life. When I was single, I just wanted to be married, now that I’m married I want to be a mom. When I lived with my parents, I wanted my own apartment, now that I have an apartment, and I want to own my own home, ect, ect. The list goes on and on of things we once wanted, we got, and now we want the “next best thing”

How do I ever expect to be truly happy, to radiant the Lord’s joy for the rest of the world if I am not content with where He has placed me TODAY?

It’s easy to let all the circumstances surrounding us pull us away from living life to the fullest. My family is going through a really hard time right now, and I admit I have let that distract me from every other aspect of my wonderful life.

Everyone has heard it a million times, “count your blessings”. Easier said than done, right? How many of you stop each day to thank the Lord for your blessings? To thank Him for putting you where you are right now? You may quickly graze over a few of them in your evening prayers, if you are anything like me, but how often do you actually stop and think about everything we have to be thankful for?

There are millions of people all over the world who are dying, who are living at poverty levels that we cannot even comprehend, without food and water, yet we complain when we don’t get that new phone we wanted, or if our internet connection is too slow, or if the restaurant we go to gives us poor service.

I wanted to take a moment to make a list of things that I never remember to be thankful for. Take a moment to read through all of these things that we are blessed with everyday, that people all over the world are living without, maybe even create a list of your own.

My Thankful List

• A safe, reliable car
• A Mattress and a box spring
• a multitude of warm blankets
• a drawer full of socks and underwear
• a washing machine (or access to one somewhere) to wash my clothes clean
• a phone to keep in touch with the people I love
• a fully stocked kitchen – fridge, oven, microwave and sink
• kitchen cabinets that are FULL of healthy, life giving food
• clean drinking water that is filtered and won’t threaten my life
• shoes for my feet
• the fact that I don’t need to take any medicine on a daily basis
• I can praise and serve my Jesus whenever and wherever I want to
• A family that loves and supports me
• Friends I can lean on and trust in
• soap to wash my body and my hands when they are dirty
• Knives, plates, forks to eat and prepare my food on/with
• A safe place to call home that keeps out bugs, intruders and animals
• The ability to see, hear, speak and walk
• The ability to learn freely and unlimited access to knowledge
• Lungs that move in and out all day long J
• contact and glasses for my eyes so that I can see everyday
• Money in the bank, no matter how little, there is some there
• The ability to read and write
• A computer (or access to one) to use at my free will
• A copy of my very own Bible that I can read whenever I want
• A closet full of clothes to keep me warm and safe from the elements
• A mother-in-law who I love and get along with so well
• A job that I like and helps to pay the bills
• A church family – the ability to go to church
• a full head of hair that I can wash as often as I please
• Access to knowledge to discover my allergies and to correct them so I can feel healthy all the time
• Access to music to fill my heart and my mind
• The ability to raise as many children as we see fit, in the way we see fit
• The ability to type
• Electricity through my entire home and day
• Power to run my electronics
• Hot water
• Free time – to do whatever I want, to have fun and be me
• A personality that is uniquely mine
• A close relationship with Jesus
• Paper to write one, or print on
• Toothbrush and paste to clean my teeth and mouth
• Access to medicine when I need it
• Access to doctoral care, when I need it
• Health insurance to help cover medical costs when they arise
• Parents who love me and have always taken care of me and my family
• A Spouse who is faithful to me and love me with all their heart
• The ability to smile, on a daily basis, because I have things to smile about
• And the list goes on and on and on

Clearly this is just smattering of all the things I have to be thankful for, and I am sure that you can be thankful for most everything listed above as well.

So next time you get wrapped up in anger or frustration over the fact that the phone bill is $ 4.59 higher than you think it should be, or the fact that your spouse/roommate made a mess and didn’t clean it up and life’s not fair, stop and think about how fair life really is of us, and how incredibly lucky you are to have that moment.

You are not guaranteed the next moment in life, so enjoy the one you have RIGHT NOW!

"What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don't be afraid of missing out. You're my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.” – Luke 12: 29-32