Missing the Soon-to-be Past
If you know me very well, you know that I have always been one to grieve for the days that are gone. Even as a child, I always disliked turning one year older. I always liked things as they were and wanted them to remain that way forever. I haven’t really changed in that regard. I turned 30 (that looks weird) a few months ago, and I still find myself wishing that things could stay the same forever. It isn’t that I have a dim outlook on the future (on the contrary, I have great hope and expectation for the future!); It’s more that I just love every season of my life so much that I hate to part with any of it.
This is one area of my life and personal perspective on which I’m trying to improve, because while I’m dreading that these precious days will soon be over, I may be enjoying them less than I could be. I don’t want to “miss” the present because I already “miss” what will soon be the past.
My ever-growing children make me realize this even more. I won’t go into all the sentimental thoughts I have daily for my precious babies, because I don’t really want to cry right now. 🙂 I need to begin appreciating and being thankful for the past, enjoying and taking pleasure in the present, and looking with a smile into the future. After all, God is in every time of my life. He created time, He put me smack in the middle of it, and He knows it all. He can help me achieve balance in my perspective and in my daily life, and He never changes.
You've done it again. I love this article.
It looks like we have been on the same page! 😀 I have been meditating on "Life" lately. The Lord had challenged me with a "vision" of sorts. In my mind, I saw a stagnant, smelly, green-algae covered pool and the contrasting picture, a fast-flowing, bubbling, melodious brook. I could almost "hear" the music of the water as it dipped and flowed over the rocks. It was pleasant and refreshing. I felt like the Lord was saying to me, "what are you going to choose?" The pool doesn't change. It stays the same, there is life in it but it is far from refreshing. The brook on the other hand is constantly changing, there is a refreshing and life in it that "sings" as it goes and it is never in the same place.
We have had a lot of change over this past year that left us a little "numb", but it was all good and we can see the Lord's "fingerprints" on each "page", so to speak, as He has been shaping and molding us with the changes. Each change has it's beauty…like sanctification…being made more conformed to His image.
Thank you so much for sharing, Karen. I needed that. I love the comparison the Lord gave you, and it encourages me as I consider it in relation to my own life, as well.