Many times our days become a series of appointments or scheduled activities, one after the other with no rests. When our lives become so dependent on rushing through every moment just to get to the future on time, we tend to lose sight of what's important. It's important to realize that the present is the only part of our lives that we can actually live. So doesn't it seem pretty stupid to try to live our present based on what's coming next? Isn't that kind of wasting the present? Don't get me wrong, future planning is important, but what gets us in trouble is missing out on the present because of fear/worry/focus on the future.
I am a planner. I love to know what's happening in my week, when, where, and how long it's going to take. I mean I even worry about what time I get up and how many hours of sleep I'm actually going to get. And then, I worry about when I'm going to have to take naps the next day to make up for inadequate amounts of sleep. And then on top of that, I calculate how many days it will be until Friday night when I know I can sleep in till noon the next day. I know, I'm crazy. But all that worry about not getting enough sleep distracts from the sleep I'm about to get. I totally gripe and complain about not getting my sleep, when God is saying "look at right now, I'm providing you with time to rest, so take it."
The writer of this book talks about intentionally slowing down her life through little things such as intentionally getting in the longer check out lines at the grocery store, or purposefully driving in the slow lane on the highway. What's the point of these? It causes you to slow down. It's when you really slow down and look at your surroundings, that you can really see all the blessings and wonders that the present has to offer. When we slow down, we open our hearts to God showing us the value of the present, AND the value of our future. When we are always going full pace, we may see value in our future, but what's the point of our future, without a present?
The future never arrives, the pasts can never be changed, but the present is what we make it (yea, you can quote me on that ha). I know that I tend to get these adrenaline rushes when I think about something super exciting in the future. But there is always something super exciting in my future. It used to be youth events or soccer games. Maybe now it's football games on campus, and maybe in the future it will be me getting married. But what if I was at a football game, but all I was focused on was the adrenaline rush of getting married? Would I not miss out on the football game? Ok, so maybe that was a weird example. But point taken? I hope.
Jamie and I were literally talking about a similar topic. I too am an extreme planner, and i carry things out as I plan them, whether the plans require tweeking or whatever due to other peoples plans or things or whatever. But theres a huge problem with what I just said, yea its great that I have things scheduled and noted, it leads to a responsible lifestyle. But no where in there did i mention what Gods plans are. No where did i say I stop, take the time, and ask "what do you want me to do/what is your plan for me". I end up rushing around like a chicken with my head cut off and do what I want to do or what i feel i need to do or what others want to do. A big part of slowing and focusing on the present needs to be asking what our Creator wants for us. I know thats something i need to work on.
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