On Refusing to Settle

Last night I was on the telephone with a great guy in our church.  He refuses to settle.  Now I like that!  He is alive and is thinking and dreaming.  On the other hand, I have had many conversations through the years with people who settled a long time ago.   They became stuffy and sedate at an early age.  It is interesting that such people often talk about "retirement" when they are still very young (at least chronologically).  What a dull way to live.

The other day, I was visiting with a friend who is a Dean at a Christian college.  I’ve known him for a long time.  We bumped into one another at Oklahoma Christian and spent some time catching up.  At one point I told him, "I’m still trying to figure out what I am going to do someday."  He then said, "Maybe we are at a point where we are already doing what we are going to do."  Hmmmm.  I like that. 

His statement reminds me of the importance of being fully alive in the moment.

Now
The Present
Today
Here

I have known too many people whose clock stopped years ago.  I recall visiting a family once.  Charlotte and I went into this house, a nice house on the outside.  Inside the house, most everything was dated by 30 years or so.  Not just the furnishings but the pictures of family.  There were pictures of the family when the kids were little but nothing since they had grown up and had families of their own.  Then I learned more. These people basically saw the best days of their lives as having occurred 30 years earlier.  Conversations tended to drift back to those days.  They were stuck.  I don’t want to be like that.

Nor, do I want to be a person who is always looking to the future and misses the present.  Like the guys I heard about who was always updating his resume.  He did that for years.  At the same time, he couldn’t figure out why he didn’t feel "at home" in the community where he lived.  It is hard to be at home when you forever have your eye on something else.

The present is sometimes very difficult.  Is your life somewhat like mine?

• At times I feel very encouraged.  At other times I find my work discouraging. 
• At times I feel very energized.  At other times I have to work hard to manage my energy. 
• At times I find myself feeling close to God.  At other times it is a real struggle.
• At times I am so grateful for the encouragement I receive from some people.  At other times I get frustrated with the lack of commitment by some Christians. 

One thing is for sure, today God is faithful.  My present is not determined by how I may feel at this moment whether good or bad.  Today belongs to God. 

What are you doing in the present?