by Kit Elmer
A wise friend once told me “God is alive in the present moment and in eternity. Satan’s territories are the past and the future.” Those words impacted me greatly and I realized that is why these two questions, “What if?” and “If only?” can be and have been so destructive in my life. It became clear to me in that moment that whenever I began to think in these ways, I would head into anxiety or despair….just where Satan wants me to be. God, however, has the fullness of life in the present moment. Embracing whatever is, God meets me there.
Another wise teacher told his students “Every day think about dying.” Not in a morbid way, yet rather to reorient yourself to the gift of this day. I had several friends who knew they were dying and they discovered how to live life fully a day at a time. No longer would they wake up and think about how to plod through their day. Instead they looked up and saw the sunrise or the sunset, the faces of those they loved, they appreciated the smell of delicious food or the contentment of a good book. Life was simpler and richer as they lived this way. Hurry became unnecessary and they slowed down.
Yet another friend reminds me to pay attention. Too often I am living on automatic pilot…my head down, putting one foot in front of the other, doing what I always do. However when I look around I see choices and I can ask “God what do you have for me today?”
Finally, another wise man, Thomas Merton, would ask his students (paraphrase) “What do you want to be living for? What is stopping for from living that way?” I have begun to ask that question more often, in God’s Presence. This way it does not become an indulgent “it’s all about me” introspective exercise. Rather, it’s asking God to tell me who I am in Him and what unique purpose did He create me for?
Living this way means there is purpose and meaning in everything that comes our way. Whether it is joy or pain, God is alive in it with us and can help us see more clearly who He created us to be and how He wants us to live our life in this moment. Right here. Right now.