Do you feel like you're always dwelling on the future? Waiting for that time when your home will be peaceful, your problems worked out and the bills paid up? A time when your children rise up and call you blessed, your husband sings your praises from the rooftop and your skinny jeans fit!
I certainly do! I've caught myself lately ruminating and fantasizing about that elusive future.
Truthfully, life at my house goes something like this. . . conversations with my teenagers which are less conversation and more full on arguments which reduce me to throwing the laundry that I am folding across the room. (I know, not the finest parenting!) Problems at work. Unexpected bills. And did I mention that I've gained and lost the same five pounds for the last two years! Pageant weight is long gone! (And, just to be clear, if I eat any more green than I do, I will probably turn green. Literally.)
So, I have a choice to make. I can keep living for the future that may or may not come to fruition or I can look for grace and joy in a less-than-perfect now.
Rejoice in Me always! No matter what is going on, you can rejoice in your Love-relationship with Me. This is the secret of being content in all circumstances. So many people dream of the day when they will finally be happy: when they are out of debt, when their children are out of trouble, when they have more leisure time, and so on. While they daydream, their moments are trickling into the ground like precious balm spilling wastefully from overturned bottles. Fantasizing about future happiness will never bring fulfillment, because fantasy is unreality. Even though I am invisible, I am far more Real than the world around you. My reality is eternal and unchanging. Bring your moments to Me, and I will fill them with vibrant Joy. Now is the time to rejoice in My Presence! (Philippians 4:4,12; Psalm 102:27)
Sarah Young, Jesus Calling
Here's the deal. My girls may always argue with me. I might always have problems at work. And I may never be thin again.( Ugh! That one was super-hard to write!)
But I can praise God for the moment He has given me. I can ask Him for eyes to see and ears to hear all the grace He has poured into right now. And it's there. It really is! Right now is jam-packed with grace...and real joy....and something to praise Him for!