The Moment

“Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11, NIV 1984).

Tonight I sat across from my spouse in an Italian restaurant on a long overdue date. Just before we held hands to thank the Lord for our food, I reflected, “You know, at this moment, each of our kids are okay; we have no major crises; my work and patients are okay. Wow. Thank you, God, for this moment.”

Our lives are so complex and burdensome. Life lies on top of us that way.
And then, we aggravate the weight of life by piling on “what might have been,” “what happened before” and “what the future might bring.” Some such concerns are important for planning purposes but most of them are emotional dead weight.

Jesus told us to live differently. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life…So do not worry…do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself” (Matthew 6, 25,31,34, NIV 1984). And Isaiah tells us, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing…” (Isaiah 43:18-19, NIV 1984).

God is always doing a new thing. God is always planning our future and He is much more interested that we spend our efforts paying attention to the moment. It is in the moment that we can give thanks. It is in the moment that we can bear witness. It is in the moment that we can share love.

Past events and past mistakes should help us form our future decisions, and possibilities for the future should help us navigate our path with God’s guidance. But most of our emotions, most of our energy and most of our actions should be focused on the now, on the very moment we are living.

And, like tonight, sometimes the moments are really cool.

Dear God,
Thank you for this moment. Please let me find you in the moments of each day.
Amen