One day last year in Amsterdam I was really being challenged in some way. I can't even remember what it was specifically anymore. But like all trials that arose whilst in Amsterdam, I reclused. I grabbed my Bible and my Ipod and started walking around the city I held so dear. On this particular day I stopped at a familiar bench. It was on this bench that I had a conversation that changed my life forever. I've sat there before. Actually alot. I knew the area. I've faced that canal, that bridge w/the lights, that blue house on the water all before. I listened to my music and I prayed asking God for guidance. I felt Him telling me to "look to the side". "Um...I'm sorry, God, I didn't seem to get that." "Look to the side, not right in front of you, Lindsay." So, I did. I wish I could say when I looked to the side I saw something magical, something triumphant and life changing. No, it was not that way. It was another set of houses, a few ducks, another bridge. Nothing exciting by any means. But I did realize that I had sat on that bench a million times before and would only look straight ahead, I never even thought to look on either side. All it took was a slight shift in my head and I saw something the same, yet different. And God said, "Lindsay, you always look ahead. Try turning your head. See what's right next to you."
I am what some (especially J) would call a future seeker. I always want to look to the next thing, tending to pass up opportunities that are right in front of me. I think, "Ok, well I am doing this now, but in 2 weeks I'll be doing this" that is how I've always gotten by. I never enjoy the moments I'm in, it's hard for me. Why focus on boring today when tomorrow seems so much more exciting?! This isn't just an issue I have, this is a common thing for most people. Why don't we enjoy the time we are in right now? I was reminded of all this when I was reading James this morning. This is how James breaks it down:
James 4:13-17
"Come now, you who say 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.' Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.' But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin."
First off, let me just say James knows how to make us feel good, "a vapor", thanks James. But James isn't about his readers making themselves feel all that great, which is why I love James so much. But he's saying it is arrogance to assume we can make plans w/o God in the making of them. I think we as Westerners don't even think about that. We just assume it's our right to have a future. I know I will be the first one to say one day can change the course of your life forever. We should not assume that there will be a tomorrow. Which sounds morbid and cliche, but brohem James says so himself. So what do we do? We live in the present. Yes, Lindsay, we live in the present ( I need to remind myself of this). So I ask, "God what do you want of me today?"
"Shift your head, Lindsay. Look to the side. Enjoy, embrace, and learn from today."
Peace, Love, & Hugs,
L
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