Live in the Moment

I think so many times in life we are either living vicariously through our past or what we hope to be in our future. Instead of really living for the day, we get caught up in yesterday and tomorrow. But what are we doing for today? I struggle with waiting. I have always had an issue with patience. I am always wanting my tomorrow to come faster, sooner. But the days really do pass by quickly and if I don't live for today the days will soon be gone and I will regret not soaking up every minute of them. It may be hard in this season of my life as I finish my degree and have to wait to get married. It definitely doesn't help when my friends are getting married and having kids already. It can get discouraging at times, but I know who I am waiting for and he is oh so very worth it. It makes me want to rip my hair out at times and scream in frustration, because I desperately long for the day I walk down the aisle and am joined with my love for better and for worse. But I know my day is coming. Until then I will wait and live for the moment. This is a poem I wrote about it.

Live for the Moment

All around pressure abound,

Of what to do with my future.

The questions; they haunt me,

As I try to go on with life.

When will you marry?

What will you do?

Where will you teach?

Why are you waiting?

How will you use your degree?

Sometimes I just want to scream,

As they bombard me with worries,

And uncertain dreams.

I've gotten to the point

Where I respond

"I don't know; God does. Ask Him."

I know I will find out in time,

But why can't that be enough?

Yet I find, it sometimes isn't enough.

In an instant culture,

I'm brainwashed to want it now,

To want it fast.

But some things take time,

And can't be slapped together

As if it's a McDonald's Happy Meal.

So I come to pray,

"Lord, help me to trust you

With my future and wait

On your timing, not mine."

Because I try to live in tomorrow

Before it's even here,

Instead of focusing on today.

Yesterday is gone and

Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

All I have is today.

So when it's gone,

What will I have to show for today?

Help me, my Lord, to live in the moment.

To take joy in each day

And what it brings.

Not to worry about tomorrow,

But to make this moment, right now, count.



Heavy Hearts...

What do you say when someone tells you one of their family members died unexpectedly, or when your friend's husband just got laid off from his job of many years, or when someone tells you someone they love dearly just went to jail? Life is fill of tough circumstances and our hearts get heavy. We are weighted down with the troubles of this world, pierced by the pain.

 And we don't really know what to say to those people, because we know if we were going through it there are some things we wouldn't want to hear. For instance, telling someone "I understand" can be so painful for someone going through a tough time. They may feel like there is no possible way anyone can understand, so telling them this does nothing. People can say "I will pray for you", but how many people really stick to this promise? We get busy and we forget. May I dare to suggest that sometimes the best thing is for us to be silent and just lend a listening ear? They need to know that someone cares about what is going on and this can merely be done by listening. And if we are going to say anything, isn't it safe to say that since we don't really know what to say, we let Him do the speaking through us? What about praying for the person right then and there, praying over them in the Spirit? Or maybe pointing them to the ONE who does understand? Because He holds our tears in a bottle and is near to the broken hearted. What about quoting Scripture? Because God's Word contains the perfect remedy to any pain. He is the ultimate healer. We can't heal, but He can.

Life is full of heartache and our hearts get so heavy with the pain. Let's encourage anyone going through a tough time and has a heavy heart to lay it at the foot of the cross, because the one who created our hearts promised us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. May we all lay our heaviness on the altar before Him, so we don't have to carry such a heavy load.  He provides us with a peace that surpasses all understanding. I pray that we can trade our heavy hearts for peaceful hearts.