Many people in this generation live a life that you could label the "what's next?" lifestyle. Never content with where they are and always looking forward to something. "What's next" thoughts could be as simple as waking up at six in the morning and thinking about what you are going to eat for dinner that night or wanting the four years of college to be over so that you can get a 'real people job.' Or, to get a little bit more personal, the thoughts could be obsessing over a relationship that you are not currently in, once in a relationship you think about marriage, and then once you are married, you start thinking about kids.
Now, do not get me wrong, future thinking is not a bad thing, sometimes, though, we need to stop looking forward at the path that lies ahead, and instead look down at our feet to make sure our shoes are not untied. What I mean by this is, we need to make sure we do not miss the present purpose for our lives and get distracted by the future hope. Where you are right now could be one of the best times of your life if you would stop and look around instead of looking ahead.
I heard a pastor once say something along the lines of this: The song goes, tomorrow, tomorrow I love you, tomorrow. No one ever says, today, today I love you, today!
Future thinking has become so ingrained in our minds that the thought of NOW is, honestly, slightly terrifying, at least personally. In Matthew 6:34, this thought of tomorrow is addressed: "Therefore don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
So often we try to run from the troubles of today by thinking about tomorrow, as Matthew states very eloquently. Do not rush your present hills and celebrations OR your present valleys and tribulations. The Lord has a time for everything "a time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away." (Ecclesiastes 3:4,6)
Take the time you have now and live out your PRESENT PURPOSE, because, as they say, there is no time like the present, it's a gift.
Short, sweet, simple
McKenna Richards
12 October 2018