-Missionary Jim Elliot
Our minds are a wonderful gift from God. They allow us to bring the past with us and to imagine the future before us. While bringing lessons and memories from the past into the present can be useful, living in the past can cause us to waste the gift of today.
As demonstrated by my pre-grieving a trip that hasn’t even taken place yet, my mind tends to live in the future. Planning is useful but living in the future can also cause us to waste the gift of today. The past is gone, the future is uncertain, now is the most important gift we are given. That is why we call it the “present.” It is cliché, but there is wisdom in making the most of the present.
Cathy and my word for 2022 is “present.” We were just talking yesterday how the word we choose tends to reveal deeper meaning as the year unfolds. Recently, through several conversations, books, and scripture, God has been clearly telling me I should let go of some things from the past and not get so caught up in what might or might not happen in the future.
If you must look forward, do so prayerfully.
However, the wisest thing you can do is to be present in the present.
Gratefully.”
Maya Angelou
If there was ever a model of someone who knew better than anyone the past and the future but lived in the present, it was Jesus. Jesus never let the hurt of the past or the concerns of the future keep Him from being fully present each day. This Lent let’s take time to focus on Jesus and how He lived.
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24