Living in the Here and Now

As most of you know, I am working on my PhD in Counseling. I spent two weeks last month on campus in class, all day every day. During this intense week, I not only learned a lot about counseling others, but I also did a tremendous amount of introspection. One of the things that resonated with me was the challenge to live in the “here and now.” We have a tendency to live in the past or to long for the future and we miss the present. July 4th carries so many memories for me that it would be easy for me to focus on the “Good ‘Ole Days” and miss what God has for me today. In the same way, when I think of our country’s future, I can get overwhelmed and discouraged. Instead, I am choosing to live today. I heard a pastor once say that living life was like driving a car. When you drive you look at the road just in front of you. You occasionally glance at the rear view mirror, but if you focus on what’s behind you, you are going to crash. You also occasionally look at what’s way ahead in the road, but if you focus there too long, you may hit the pothole right in front of you. Its important that we remember our past and we think about our future, but we can’t stay there. We have to learn to live in the moment. This is especially difficult when we are hurting – we want answers—we want to know what the future holds. I’ve realized that I can drive myself crazy pondering all the “what if’s?” and I have to live in the moment. By choosing to live in the moment, I am trusting God with the future. I don’t know what you are facing this independence day, but I pray that you will walk in freedom from anxiety and fear. I pray that we will all learn to trust more and worry less. This video clip shows how we can allow the world to tarnish us and keep us from walking in freedom. Click here to watch video.