Thanks.

Living in the present is hard sometimes. 
I still remember being in sixth grade, wearing my velour leopard pants (what was I thinking, right?), and dreaming of being "grown up" - No more school, I could get married, be a mom, oh and also become the 6th Spice Girl, which was my main goal at the age of 12...and still a little bit at the age of 27. 
My mom would always tell me to enjoy the days that I had and live in the moment and I would always think, "no way, things will be so much better when I get older!" Looking back, I have NO idea what I thought could be easier than the 6th grade life...I mean, really, what could possibly have been stressing me out? I was probably just bummed that "Dunkaroos" and "Koala Yummies" were no longer going to be around.  Those were good, right? 

But I digress...

I don't know if it's true for you, but I know that for myself it is always easy to think "things will be better if this or that happens".  Unfortunately, I feel like I do that too much. 
Lately it's been:
"Things will be so much better when we can buy a house."
..."when we have a baby."
..."when all these stupid medical bills are paid off!"
..."if we won the lottery!" (I threw that last one in just now but a girl can dream, right?)

While, yes, I would love for all these things to happen...they aren't right now.  But I am not called to live for tomorrow.  I am called to live for today. 

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow..." ~Matthew 6:34

"Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring." ~ Proverbs 27:1

God calls us to be "thankful in all circumstances"...that doesn't mean "be thankful in the circumstances that you are really excited about", it means all.  Yep, hard to swallow sometimes. Trust me, I am still working on this.
I used to think (and sometimes still do), "how can I be thankful for this?! What is there to be thankful for?" "Can't I wait for this to be over and then be thankful?"
I struggle with this quite often.  
When this happens I try to think back to a few months ago...I was sitting in church and something came over me.  I actually felt thankful for the situation I was in.  In an odd way, I felt honored that God would choose me for this. Strange, right?  He is shaping me, molding me, and using me through this. Honestly, if I would have gotten my pick of what He could use me through, it would not have been through this...it would have been through me being a successful talk-show host who likes to give away houses and stuff to those who need them (any takers? I have zero experience, but that could make it even more entertaining. No? Ok, didn't think so.)
Honestly, I do not feel this way every day.  I am not skipping around saying "Oh lucky me, this is the greatest thing ever!"  Some days I am like "This sucks, everything is horrible, when is this going to change?!" But through all of this I am learning how to at least TRY and be thankful in all circumstances. It's amazing how your outlook can change when you switch your focus to what you are thankful for instead of what is not happening. 
I am thankful for Who is in control of this.  I am thankful that there IS a plan in all of this and that it is already taken care of.  I am thankful for so many big and little things in between. 
I will do my best to live in the now and enjoy it without trying to look for what's next. 
Yes, I am allowed bad days, but I truly hope those days are outweighed by the good. 

...Man, I could go for some Dunkaroo's now...

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

Comments

  1. Team CarrMay 21, 2012 at 8:27 PM

    You're awesome. And dunkaroos are awesome. Thank you for reminding me of both things!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. MRooneyMay 21, 2012 at 9:07 PM

    I've seen Koala Yummies at both World Market and in the dollar bins at Target...hope that brightens your day :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jen VMay 21, 2012 at 9:18 PM

    I need Koala Yummies and I need them now!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Becky MichelMay 22, 2012 at 6:24 AM

    I love hearing your voice - your heart!

    ReplyDelete

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