God has plans for each and every person and with those plans comes purpose and the knowledge that no matter what happens in life God's will always prevails. " Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.- proverbs 19:21
Each stage of life is like a building block. What you learn today is going to help you prepare for tomorrow but sometimes being content with today in that season of waiting isn’t always easy. It can also be hard to appreciate today while always waiting for tomorrow.
As people we always crave more and look to jump ahead to the next stage of life. How often do you find yourself saying as soon as this happens I will be so excited or I’m so excited for the day that this is true.
I know I am so guilty of going to Pinterest and creating a board filled with “future goals” and there is nothing wrong with having future goals and aspirations, in fact those are wonderful things. But there is something wrong when you are consumed by just living for someday and not appreciating today.
In high school I found myself craving more by counting down days till graduation. As joyful and thankful that I was for the season of my life I was never content with just being in high school, I always wanted more. I loved Friday night footballs games, dances, walking with my friends to class and knowing almost everyone in every class, but I still didn’t completely appreciate it. With all those things I loved , I still could not wait till the next stage of life following high school graduation. I thought about how wonderful college football games would be and how much more interesting my college classes would be in comparison. Instead of just appreciating where I was, I spent so much time day dreaming and wishing I was in a different season of life. I thought once I graduated high school and moved onto college then I would be content with being a college student. And now as a college student, in my first semester I find myself already counting down till graduation and dreaming about the next stage of my life .
But then it dawned on me. It is a great thing to have goals, but it is an even better thing to appreciate the steps on the way to achieving those goals. Everyday is such a gift and no matter how excited I am for tomorrow, today is to be appreciated. God has each of us on our own individual paths with our own purpose. He knows what is best for us and he has his hand in every aspect of our life. So each day and challenge we experience can be used to teach us a lesson and strengthen our faith.
Each season of life is a gift. Today is a day you will never get back. The time you have with the people in your life right now is time you might not have in the future. No one can tell you exactly what the next season of your life will look like. With each new phase of life changes happen. Unplanned things occur and through it all you have to just trust God.
You can dream about tomorrow, and work towards your goals but don’t forget to appreciate today.
My Mom and I often have long talks about life, and the passage of time. All of her words of wisdom stick with me, but one phrase in particular that she said really left an impact on my perspective regarding the current stage of my life.
She told me “Gabby, If I could go back in time to feel what it was like to be young and in my parents house again and have that feeling one last time, I would go back in a heart beat”.
That took me by surprise, because my mom is a grown woman with her own family and a lot of the wonderful things that social media says are #goals and what most my friends dream about. Of course my mom is thankful for her life and wouldn’t change a thing about who and what she has, but she wished she appreciated the moments leading up to today more.
There are things in each person's life that can easily be taken for granted and overlooked if you keep just living for the future and forget to appreciate today. God knows what is best for us, so he knows that this stage of life, with all it is filled with, is what fits into his plans for us.
No matter what season of life you are in, there is so much to appreciate and hold onto. Time with family, laughs with friends, days in school, working a job, time spent studying. Each person, every homework assignment and no matter what you face in each situation, it is a gift and a building block for tomorrow.
What God is showing and teaching you in this season of life is preparing you for the person you will someday be. If you don’t experience today to the fullest you won’t be able to learn what you are going to need to know.
Don't rush time, because it moves fast enough but remember to step back and be thankful for today.
God has you in the place he wants you at, and with his Good and perfect will his plans for your life are going to prevail.
"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”-
1 Thessalonians 5:18
