“This is the day which the Lord has brought about; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24
There’s a saying I love that goes like this: Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift; that’s why it’s called the present. We need to enjoy every moment of our lives and stay focused on the present. We can’t dwell on the past or look too far into the future, but we need to realize the present moment is God’s gift to us right now, so we need to fully live in it and enjoy it.
A friend of mine did not marry until she was forty~flve years old. Her marriage was so wonderful and satisfying to her that she often said that her husband was God’s present to her. One day her husband went into the hospital for a routine surgery, but due to an unexpected infection he never came home. His death was a tere rible shock and a devastating disappointment, but she is very glad that she thoroughly enjoyed her husband during the years they had together. I am so glad for her that she is not living with the pain of her loss plus a lot of regret. All too often people are so busy that they put off enjoying their family and friends and then when it is too late they regret that they did not make better choices. The only way to avoid regret is to make good choices and enjoy the present. Every moment is a gift from God. I make an effort to focus on and enjoy every moment of my life, but doing so has been along and difficult journey for me. I’ve really had to work on doing so because I am a planner, and if I am not careful, I find myself planning the next thing while doing the current thing, which of course steals the present moment from me. Although being focused is a good thing, I can also easily get so focused on my work that I fail to enjoy the magic of the moment. For example, I wasusually working while my children were little and found it difficult to even take a moment to stop and enjoy the cute things they said or did. I missedlmany of those moments and will never get them back. We should celebrate life and the people God has placed in our path. Life is to be enjoyed, not dreaded or regretted.
Through growing up in a dysfunctional home where we certainly did not enjoy life, I turned into a workaholic and tried to find my worth and value in what I did, rather than in who I was. Because my parents seemed to be more pleased with me when I was doing something and being productive than when I wasn’t, I thought God was also more pleased with me when I was doing and producing.
The atmosphere in my home growing up was very intense and I experienced a lot of fear. I didn’t get to have much fun during my childhood, and when I was in my twenties, I could not remember ever being truly happy or completely relaxed. Because of the abuse, my childhood was stolen. I became an adult, but there was no child in me, no childlikeness in me at all--and that’s not healthy. Every healthy adult needs to have a healthy child on the inside. We need to know how to work and how to be responsible, but we also need to know how to play and enjoy ourselves. We should never miss an opportunity to laugh because it is like medicine. It helps us in many ways, including our physical health. And, being lighthearted makes even our work more pleasant and enjoyable.
This power thought-1 live in the present and enjoy each moment-can transform your life because if you really allow it to change your thinking, you’ll begin enjoying your life in brand-new Ways. Even if you consider yourself a “serious” person, extremely focused or very responsible, you should still take time to enjoy what you are doing. Never be too busy to enjoy every aspect of your life.
how much do you really and live in the present moment
A lot
A little
Not much at all
How much do you enjoy people in your life?
