Beyond Yesterday and Before Tommorrow

       Its that time of year again. The time of a closing chapter and a new beginning. One of those times in life where you want to pause and savor every bit of the moment that just passed. Yes, there will be better ones in the future but this moment will never be again. If only time could stand still. If only you could hold your breathe and the moment would freeze. But alas, that isn't possible. So, we do what only humans can do; become speechless.
     We can't stop altogether. Dinner still has to be made, our job still has to be attended to, our phones still rings. And although we still walk through ever moment flawlessly, as if we were a mechanical robot, our minds are still ten steps behind. If you anything like me, you don't talk a lot. It doesn't mean your not thinking. No my mind is still going constantly. Thinking on the past phase of life, replaying my favorite moments. Savoring the present, taking in everything and everyone around me. Life seems very slow and yet frantically fast at the same time. Your mind slowly moves from those precious moments in the past to the foreboding future. Your heart, desires and dreams begin to migrate to the new phase of life and what it has to offer. It takes everything in you to hold your pants to your office chair and actually work. If you didn't you would be miles high in the air, chasing after every star.
     The thing about being in that place in life is that it is easy to fall into two conditions: a Past Visitor, or a Future Dreamer. Although for a brief moment neither condition is really wrong, if in it for an extended amount of time, it can become a serious problem. What the world is a past visitor and a future dreamer? Let me try to explain.

     PAST VISITOR: This condition is best described as the weeping mother at a wedding. The ones who say they're so happy but every 5 minutes they burst into tears and proclaim that their "baby" is leaving them. What does that have to do with anything? Well the mother is clearly suffering from past visitation syndrome! She is slumbering through the present while waltzing through the past. I'm pretty sure you have done it once or twice yourself. Think about it! The symptoms hide themselves well but if you look close you can tell. Somewhat quiet, not excited about the future. Everything that happens has some past story latched to it. Homesickness is prevalent. If you are suffering from these symptoms you could have past visitation syndrome.

"While I take inspiration from the past, like most Americans, I live for the future."-Ronald Reagan 

I prefer to say "past visitor" rather than living in the past, because we all know you can't truly live in the past. But you can sure back your mental bags and visit your past for an extended amount of time. But, just like when you go off for a long vacation, the mail piles up, the dust settles and life goes on. When you finally return from the past you realize that the present has been neglected. Then it takes you extra time trying to clean up the mess and get resettled back into life. Visiting the past for an extended amount of time never did anyone any good.

FUTURE DREAMER: The condition of a future dreamer can be just as devastating to a human. The symptoms include constant day-dreaming, no passion for a present job, irritated or aggravated if stationed in one position for a long amount of time, and often bored out of their wits. You find this phenomenon prevalent in teenagers and college students. I often encounter this condition when God begins to redirect my life. It's never wrong to look towards the future, the same as it isn't wrong to ponder the past. However, just like visiting the past for extended amount of time brings repercussions, so does constantly planning for tomorrow. Just think about it for a second. If your so enraptured by planning tomorrows meals, who will cook today's? There will always be another step to take, another train to be boarded, another moment to contemplate. But as C.S. Lewis so accurately said,

"The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is."-C. S. Lewis 

    Sometimes I have to remind myself to slow down. The Bible often uses the phrase "Walk in the Spirit." It does not say to Sprint with the Spirit, to Run with the Spirit or even to Sit with the Spirit. No, it says WALK: a constant moving in a forward direction.  God has amazing, big plans for my future, I am positive. But he also has an important will for my life today. Today he has asked me to wake up and surrender to his will for my life. He has asked me to cheerful sit in an office. He has asked me to answer the phones with kindness, and compassion, and a willingness to help the person on the other side of the line to the best of my ability. He as asked me to use every moment of my time to glorify him. So, in the moment beyond yesterday and before tomorrow, I choose to be a part of something greater. A calling that goes to many but is heard by few.

TODAY I WILL SERVE THE LORD