Psalm 118:24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Something I have always struggled with is looking ahead to what is to come and I’m always in a rush to get there. I have always wanted life to just speed up because, something in the future, always seems more exciting than the present time. For an example, my kids are baby and toddler right now. So often I think of the homeschooling years, and I want to just skip forward to that because in my mind, that is going to make life simpler, and the kids will be older therefore less (for the lack of better words…) needy. Not that I dislike this current stage, it’s just toddlers can be very tiring, and the grass is always greener on the other side, right? But yesterday a thought hit me like a ton of bricks. When I’m not looking forward to what’s coming next, I’m looking at the past thinking to myself, “I miss those days!!” and wishing for them back. At this rate I’ll never win. I’m always stuck in the past or future. It’s time to give this struggle to God and ask him to help us be in the present. One of the key ingredients to help us with this, is thankfulness. We need to be thankful for the time we have with our kids. God knows our human nature and knows that we struggle in these areas, that is why (In my opinion) He calls us His sheep. Always trying to get to greener grass, straying away, being complacent, and never satisfied. As someone who has had sheep as a kid, this boot fits the foot pretty good. Psalm 100:3 Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; We are His people, and the sheep of his pasture. Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned-every one-to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He is the GOOD shepherd. We are his sheep.
Being excited for the future isn’t a bad thing, but don’t let it steal you away from the present time. So often I forget to just stop thinking and be in the present. Don’t let the season of life you are in just blow by and realize later, you weren’t really there. Set your phone down, shut off the tv, stop what you are doing and be in the moment with your kids. Take time to play with them, read them books, go for walks, go to the park. Enjoy the moments in this season of life. Someday, we WILL look back and with all my heart, I want us to look back and say, “those were great ages, special memories, and I’m so glad I was there.” not “I wish I could’ve been there, I wish I wasn’t so distracted by my phone, I wish I didn’t wish those moments away.” Because you will miss it…
Hope my thoughts are encouraging to someone! Until next post, Becca Z
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