I was smack-dab in the middle of my 5 week Living & Active Challenge when my everyday routine, my comfort, was shaken. When I started with the first week of this challenge I shared with you in a video that Satan comes after those that are obedient to God and His plan, and friends I was no exception.
I had been laid off work due to the government shutdown. My husband and I weren't sure how long I’d be out of work, or if I’d be able to come back at all the way everyone was speculating about things. So this full-time working mama went straight to staying at home with her baby girl, and I wasn't so sure I was doing so well at my new job.
Uncertainty filled my eyes in the form of tears as I became overwhelmed at my new role and how much my life had suddenly changed in a moment’s notice. But friends, as these feelings of doubt washed over me, I felt the Lord’s presence and heard Him say these precious words to my soul:
Be in the present.
So often our society focuses on the next thing. We schedule out dates in our planners 2 years in advance. We barrel through one task to get to the next one. Our phones are always nearby so that we don’t miss a single thing that’s happened on Facebook or Twitter. We continually focus on what needs to be done, rather than what’s been done.
In that moment standing over my kitchen sink full of dishes, the Lord reminded me of the precious time He had given me and it wasn't to be taken for granted.
Sometimes we’re meant to be in the present.
Sometimes we’re meant to just stop, rest, and enjoy the moment. Because y’all, we’re missing it. The leaves are starting to change color where I live which signals fall is here. They will soon fall to the ground, be swept up into a pile and then discarded for the next season to arrive.
Don’t discard this moment in your life. You won’t get it back. Some of you reading this may not like where you’re at in your life at the present moment and that’s okay. Something is to be said for the present you are in now. God is working in your life right now. Friend, He is there working even if you don’t see Him. When we focus too much on the future, we miss out on what the Lord is doing in our lives in the present.
How is God working in your life right now? What is He revealing to you in the present?
That day I decided to lay with my daughter for her nap. I held her in my arms and laid my head against hers and watched her sleep peacefully. I spent time taking her in; her facial features, how little her hands were, how she smiled in her sleep. Because the fact is-
This moment is just a season of time.
One day her hands won’t be that little anymore. One day she will grow up before my eyes and friends, I don’t want to miss a moment of this sweet present.
Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that the Lord has plans for our future, but He also has plans for us in the present. He wants us to soak up these moments in our lives; trials or triumphs, hardships or difficulties, dirty dishes or a spotless house and find Him there in the midst of it.
These seasons in our lives come and go so quickly. They are but moments in time.
I had every intention of writing through my 5 week challenge and sharing that journey with you. But I felt God calling me to be in the present and just enjoy my time with daughter, so that’s what I did. I am happy to share with you that I did complete my 5 week challenge and did return back to work. I look back on that short precious time and I’m so thankful I took time to be in the present.
Friends, don’t miss what God is doing in the present.
Is God calling you to be in the present?
Do you have trouble staying the present?
How is God working in your life in the present moment?
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