Living in the Moment!!

This month I am going to begin my Blog with a passage from the Bible. It is from the New Testament. It is found in the Gospels, the part where Jesus talks. Now, do not stop reading! I promise not to get Bible-thumbing-crazy. And I promise not to go all “3 point-sermon” on everyone.

The Passage is found in Matthew 6:31 and it says, “… do not worry, stop asking, what shall we eat? or what shall we drink? or what shall we wear?”

I know that was not a very long Bible passage, but it is a passage that suggests to us that people in those days were asking serious questions. Much like the serious questions, people are asking today during these times of uncertainty.

As I travel about, I often hear fellow workers and family friends ask, “When is this Virus stuff going to be over?” “When will things go back to the way they were?” “When will our days be normal again?” And “When can I go here or when can I go there?”

And to be honest, I was right there with them asking the same questions, “When are we going to return to the way it once was?” “When can we go back to the way our lives were before this awful Virus?”

Yes, that was me, until one day I realized I was stuck.

It occurred to me that I had been wandering around in a holding pattern. When I think seriously about it, I see myself as sleep-walking these past few months and waiting for this bad-dream to end and for me to wake-up and begin living my life once again. Or to use another analogy, it is as if I was on the sidelines watching the game wondering if I was ever going to play again. It was during this time that I realized life was passing me by.

Life, time, or opportunities, however, you want to refer to them, were all going by and I was not taking advantage of any of them.

I was either too focused on the PAST and how things once were and the wonderful way that I enjoyed them. Or I was too anxious for the FUTURE and the change that was going to happen and the happiness that was going to accompany these futuristic moments. I was not focused at all on the PRESENT.

So, I begin to ask myself a new question, “What about right now?” “What about the present God-given opportunities that are in front of me?”

I have been spending much of my time, if not all my time, waiting for this Virus Crises to be over. When in fact there are people and situations and problems and plights and crises and trouble all around me; and I was too blind to see them. I just never stopped to consider that others were hurting and needed my attention. I was too caught up in the Virus-frenzy and failed to look around at how I can be helpful and how I can offer assistance and how I can be a remedy to a few, or maybe many, of these issues right now.

One lesson I have learned during these past few months is that I want to live in the moment. What does that mean, you may ask? Well for me it means, what can I do today to help someone? What can I say that will encourage one of our workers, office employees, or someone in my family? Yes, many things have changed. And yes, things do look different, but that is ok. There are many doors of opportunity opening to each of us during these changing times. We do not need to wait for a future day or time or door of opportunity to show someone that they matter or that they are important. Instead of waiting, I suggest that we live in the moment and take advantage of the opportunities that are afforded to us daily to offer help, assistance, encouragement, and support to those who are struggling and who may be asking, “When is this all going to be over and when can we go back to normal?”