I used to make plans. Plans for every second of every day. I needed to know every little detail to ensure that things would go the way I intended. I HATED when things did not go the way I had planned. I made detailed plans days, weeks, and sometimes months in advance.

All of the planning stopped the day my best friend died, unexpectedly.

That friend and I had plans, plans that stretched far into the months to come. The moment I realized these plans would never be fulfilled is the moment I stopped making plans and began to “go with the flow.”

My heart broke a little more each time a day passed without undergoing the plans that we had made. I felt as if I was canceled on or like I was the one canceling the plans. The feeling of abandonment encouraged me to stop living every day on a timeline and begin living life in the moment.

Living life in the moment felt like the most impossible of things to do for a person that was so strict with time management. People make living life in the flow of things look easy but I was quick to learn, it is FAR from easy.

Living in the moment made me scared and made me see the anxiety I never displayed before. I had feared in every moment that a tragedy could take over my life again and I would have to start over once more. Eventually, the fear of living in the moment subsided and I was able to see the beauty in each moment of life.

You cannot expect each and every moment to go exactly as planned. If every moment went exactly as planned, life would be perfect. And let’s face it, life is far from perfect. The day and time you notice that life will NEVER be as perfect as you expect it to be is the day you can really start to live life.

Living life in each moment allows you to actually experience life. It prevents you from getting caught up in the excessive, behind-the-scenes planning that usually does not play out the way it was supposed to. It allows every moment to be cherished and never overlooked. The most important thing to take from living in the moment is that you actually live. You experience the sounds, the smells, the colors and other sights.

The most difficult part of living in the moment is realizing that there are moments that will not go as expected. You must take those moments and flow with them because there is nothing that can change them. Living life in the moment opens up a whole new array of opportunities and experiences, some good and some bad, but neither will be found unless you live in the moment and go with the flow of life.

Things happen unexpectedly in life, it’s the way God has intended it to be. He expects you to ride the waves of life and remember that “the Lord, our God is with you, wherever you go,” Joshua 1:9.