Make the Most of the Moment

Both of our girls are home this week. Christine has been gone all summer doing an internship in Alabama. This is the first time that we have all been home together. It has been so nice. All of the familiar sounds are under one roof now. This year, Jamie will be a senior in high school. Christine will be a senior in college. There is something about all of this that that makes this time very special. Yet, the other day, I found myself on auto-pilot again. Forgetting how special this is. Forgetting that this opportunity to be together will only become rarer. Instead, I found myself getting upset over nothing.

Maybe I am just more sensitive to this issue right now, but it seems to me that a lot of us are on auto-pilot. While we get exasperated over the way things are at work, church, in the extended family, etc. we miss the moment. These moments are gifts from God, here just for a brief time.

Having lunch with a friend? Are you really present? Are you engaged and listening? Or, is this just another event to check off today’s to-do list?

Are you in a conversation with your son or daughter? Are you really present in the moment? Or, are you preoccupied with what you need to get done before you go to bed?

Are you looking at a sunrise? Do you think for just a moment that God is making this happen? That as creator, he is still sustaining his creation? Or do you immediately turn on the radio and miss the moment?

Maybe you are on the telephone with your mother. She is in the twilight of her life. She is telling you a rather involved story about an aunt and her fourth trip to the doctor. Are you mainly interested in getting off the phone as soon as possible? Or, do you realize that this conversation will one day no longer be possible?

Today, I want to be fully present in each moment that God gives me. These are gifts to be received and opportunities to be embraced. I’m sure I’ll still mess up. Somehow, by the grace of God, maybe I will miss fewer opportunities to experience his gifts.