For years, I waited.
My perception of my life was all about circumstances. I saw myself as not being in the ideal circumstances but assured myself that one day things would be different. As I saw it, the present was always lacking in some way. However, things would really be good when, one day, life would be what I wanted it to be.
When I was single, I thought life would really begin when I got married.
When I was in college, I thought life would really begin when I graduated.
When I was in graduate school, I thought life would really begin when I finished the program.
When I was married, I thought life would really begin when we could settle down somewhere.
When we were renting a house, I thought life would really begin when we could own a home.
Does any of this sound familiar? For me, this “one day” kind of thinking really impacted some years of my ministry.
For a number of years, I would imagine that life would really be good when the church where I was on staff would finally begin doing things the way I thought they ought to do them. I recall thinking that if only I could be in a larger church, then life would be good. I thought at one time that if only I could somehow be in the right church that I would flourish, come alive, and blossom.
Still others live as if life has already happened. For these people, life stops when their children are grown and have left home. They pull back from their friends, from their church, and spend much of their lives in their recliner.
The truth is that life is happening right now.
Life is not something that will happen one day when things come together. Far too many of us put our lives on hold while we wait for something to be different or while we wait for goals to be realized.
Again, life is happening right now.