Somewhere past the middle

Denali Road

It’s easy to get lost in life.  Seasons come and go.  Some linger longer than others, like a winter that doesn’t want to let go, or like Indian summers days here in Oklahoma that hesitate to yield to the coming fall.  When I was younger, seasons seemed endless and time was on my side.  Now that I am older, time passes so quickly that I can forget what season, what month or what year I am in.  

I blinked and my kids are high school graduates.  I slept a night or two and now Luke is out of college and Kellie is over halfway there.  I am quickly approaching my mid-fifties and marveling how I arrived here so quickly.  Billy Graham was once asked what he had found to be the greatest surprise about life.  His immediate answer was “the brevity of it.”  I agree with him.  Scripture states that life is like a vapor and a breath, here today and gone tomorrow.

One thing for certain, I am somewhere past the middle of my life.  I hope and pray I have many more days ahead, yet I know they will pass quickly. What I do know for certain, is that I have today.  Tomorrow is past, the future is uncertain, but you and I have today.  Maybe our heavenly Father, in His wisdom, purposefully made life brief and fleeting.  Maybe His intention was that we would not concern ourselves with things out of our control, but instead embrace the time that we have and live it fully.

In certain seasons of my life that have lingered, there has been a temptation to get lost in the monotony of the moments.  This happens to the best of us; a businessman going to the same office every day, a stay at home mom raising young children, or a pastor preparing sermons week after week.  Monotony has a way of blinding us to the blessing and the power of the moment.  When we are in a long monotonous season, we can easily lose purpose and vision for our days and can instead become bored.  When bored, we look for something to ease our pain.  Some may turn to busyness, some turn to food, some to sports, and others to shopping. Some may take a darker turn to drugs, alcohol, sex or porn. None of these are good, nor do they satisfy.

Let us stay present to the moment, fully alive to the day we are living.  Let us understand that this is the day the Lord has made, knowing that tomorrow is not promised.  Only then can we fully live in the seasons, enjoying each day, and not worry about what may or may not come.  Today is our gift.  As the writer to the Hebrews penned, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today’ (Hebrews 3:13).”