What are you holding out for in life? Is there something you think will make life better? Something you think of and say, “Life will be better when…” When I get a new job. When I find a guy who truly understands me. When I don’t have to take care of my parents. When “he” stops drinking. When my ex starts taking the kids on a regular basis.
When…
We keep holding out for “when…” thinking that life will get good again, or good for the first time, when… We’ll be able to start truly living life to the fullest when… We’ll be happy when…
What we don’t understand is that “when…” may never come. And even if it does, it’s not going to fill all the voids in our life. There will be something else that’s still out there, another when… And so month after month, year after year, we’re waiting, planning, focusing, obsessing on when…
And life is passing us by.
There is no destination in this life. We’ll never “arrive” at some magical place this side of heaven where desires and longings are all fulfilled. We’re on a continual journey as long as we’re on this earth.
And the journey is what we’re supposed to savor.
Life is to be lived to the fullest, in the moment. It’s not to be wasted as we hold out for when…
Life is what happens when… we’re waiting for tomorrow.
Life is what happens when… we’re planning for tomorrow.
Life is what happens when… we’re focusing on tomorrow.
Life is what happens when… we’re obsessing on tomorrow.
One day we’re going to look back and say life is what happened. Life is what we missed. Life was so much better than we gave it credit for, and now those years are gone. All because we were fixated on “tomorrow”. On when…
What if tomorrow never comes? For us or for someone we love? What if today is the day we were given to live life to the fullest, not tomorrow? Have you heard the song “Live Like You Were Dying” by Tim McGraw? It talks about a guy who gets a medical report saying he might not have much time left to live. And so he begins to live in the moment, in the present, as if there is no tomorrow. The chorus says:
I went skydiving
I went rocky mountain climbing
I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu
And I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter
And I gave forgiveness I’d been denyin’
And he said some day I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dyin’
What if we took that chance today? What if we were to live as if we were dying? Better yet, what if we were to live as if we were living? Truly living? Loving deeper. Speaking sweeter. Forgiving old hurts. Embracing God.
There’s nothing wrong with planning for the future, as long as we’re living life fully today. As long as we’re not holding out for when… As long as we realize there will come a final day when we will meet our Maker.
Today is a new day. It’s time to start jumping into life with both feet off the ground.
“Give me happiness, O Lord, for I give myself to You.” Psalm 86:4 (NLT)
May I pray?
Father God, rarely do we view each new day as a day to be savored. A day to be lived to the fullest. There are bills to pay, people to take care of, schedules to keep up with, and relationships that need fixing. So we hold out for a different tomorrow thinking surely that’s when life will be worth living. Lord, help us to see through those lies. Help us to start living life today. Truly living it. Not with reckless abandon, but with joy and purpose. With love in sisterhood. Amen.
Q4U: What are you holding out for in life?
Life is when you treasure each precious and hilarious moment with the friends who share the love of Christ in your life. I love you Joy! You have been a great blessing in my life.
Thank you, JV! I treasure the memories of the truly special times we’ve shared. You have been an amazing blessing to me too.
Thanks, Joy, for you and your blessings. You are a wonderful inspiration to all of us. Stay strong. Love, Karen