Constantly changing.
Sometimes I feel as though once I've comfortably set both feet on the ground, life shifts and I am suddenly propelled into a new stage of life.
This is not however, a bad thing. Without change, we would not grow or develop more fully, into the person that Jesus calls us to be--- (more like Him).
I have always been a dreamer... always anticipating the next big thing.
I remember being 12 years old, earnestly praying for my future husband and asking God to give him a kiss for me (I will never claim to be normal). Later, in high school, all I wanted was a high school sweetheart. Oh how I wanted this and thought that life would be so grand with a pretty boy in it!
If you took a peek into the journals I kept all through high school and even college, you would see that I was constantly concerned about a different guy. Thankfully, throughout college, you would begin to see me surrender my fleeting concerns to Jesus. Slowly, but surely.
But the truth is, I had it good. I had amazing friends, girls and guys; and although I chased after the thought of a high school sweetheart, I was totally happy.
I have so many fond memories from college. I think the best were the ones that I took a moment to really appreciate and savour. I remember sipping a hot cup of joe on the porch of my favorite coffee shop in Manhattan on a cool morning, when all was silent except for the soft jazz music and excited chatter of the birds. Those were the times. Times to really soak up.
But here's the thing, I continue to have those moments. Simple moments that suddenly fill my whole being with joy. I love walking into the lunch kitchen at work and seeing gorgeous freshly washed veggies on the cutting board. The way the sunlight hits them is perfection. In Costa Rica, I would just sit along the beach and try to capture the sound of the great waves crashing onto the boulders lining the shore. I wanted to hear them forever.
I think it is tempting to look back and yearn for certain things that you had when life seemed so good, or yearn for "that thing" that will make your life so much better. But the truth is that there are always new blessings around you, to savour, enjoy, and remember; and the trick is to not let them simply pass you by.
Life is good when we simply take a moment to appreciate it.
Sheldon Vanauken says it well in his book "A Severe Mercy,"
"To be in love, as to see beauty, is a kind of adoring that turns the lover away from self."
We live in a beautiful world.
...
Be here now. We will never be in this place in life again, and if we look around, we probably have it pretty good, even great. I am learning that no matter how many wonderful memories I have in the past, I have even more ahead of me. My challenge to myself, is to live it up, because soon life will change again.
