Memories from the past and life back at home eat away at me like a parasite. They encapsulate my mind leaving me focusing on situations that have already occurred or have yet to occur. Not that they were really that bad, but they weren’t that great either. Mediocre…yea that’s a good word for them. I was living, but I wasn’t fully living for God.
I almost settled for that life…the life that so many people choose to let over power them, define them, and ultimately leave them thinking that is all there is, because that is all they know.
That’s all I knew…
The easy life…the one that keeps you up at night pondering on if that’s really all there is…the one that speaks lie after lie to you, telling you there is no other way. The one tells you…you MUST graduate, you MUST get a job right after college, you MUST be married by 25, you MUST “live it up” in your 20s because after that it’s all down hill, you MUST have it all figured out, you MUST live up to societies standards…and if not, well…you’re a failure or something went wrong.
If that’s the case, then I am a failure & a huge one at that. The accumulation of all the events leading up to the here & now, although they are a beautiful mess, they are all a part of God’s glorious masterpiece He is beginning to paint all because I have wholeheartedly decided to give Him the paintbrush.
HE is my artist!
He makes the twists and turns that will one day perfectly fit together.
It’s okay that they don’t fit perfectly together right now, Gods knows what He is doing, He knows how His hand-crafted masterpiece for our lives will turn out in the end, so He wants us to not worry about the events of the future or what will happen tomorrow, in next hour, or even in the seconds following…
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” –Matthew 6:25-34
He wants us to live in the moment, enjoying this very second, the fact that we can breathe in and breathe out is a miracle in and of itself, He woke us up today, but not to live another day of mediocrity…Instead He ultimately wants us to live for Him, loving each & every person we come in contact with, finding the good in ALL circumstances past or present, & seeing the Jesus that is inside of each one of us!
To be present means to first and foremost ask God to be present in our lives and to focus on His presence. To fully be present in any situation or relationship we must begin there. His presence will be made known to us if only we ask.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. –Matthew 7:7-8
I look forward to pressing into each moment on my World Race journey. I am thoroughly enjoying this very moment…sitting on a hammock in Antigua, Guatemala, listening to voices of young children who speak a language I can hardly understand, the sound of a hammer as a construction worker repairs houses nearby, tuk-tuks, motorcylists, and vans zooming past & I cannot help but feel so blessed for this exact moment that will quickly fade away, becoming another distant memory.
I pray that we can all learn the importance of staying present. The importance of focusing on the here and now and letting it all sing in…for this moment will soon pass & another will come taking it’s place. When we allow ourselves to become completely present, God is able to open our eyes to see more like He does & we can ultimately enjoy this wonderful life we are given with a new perspective & new outlook! We can see the little things we have never seen before, consequently discovering & appreciating the world in a new light!
I challenge you to give God the paintbrush & let Him create the most magnificent picture you can ever imagine. TRUST that He knows what is BEST for you in ALL situations. Allow Him to open your eyes to focus only on present the moment he has placed before you. Have FAITH even through the hard times, the times we feel as though He is so far, the times we cry out to Him & feel as though He is not listening…I pray that you feel the loving arms of your father wrap around you and know that with the paint brush now in His hands…the picture is bound to be more beautiful than you could ever imagine!
