This moment in time....
Oh, how sweet the light of day, and how wonderful to live in the sunshine! Even if you live a long time, don't take a single day for granted. Take delight in each light-filled hour... (Ecclesiastes 11:7-8)
How many light-filled hours have you been given on this earth? How many will you use to the fullest? It is just about time for the sun to creep slowly over the horizon and bring the light of a new day here. For those of us that live in Arizona, we don't celebrate the sun as much as we celebrate those infrequent breaks we get from the sun! A few clouds are a welcome thing once in a while around here - a relief from the scorching of the sun is accomplished in those passing shadows above. I imagine that those facing day after day of tornadoes, cloud cover, and incessant rain that produces flooding would love nothing more than to say, "Here comes the sun!" It is all about perspective - whatever we live with for a while becomes something we often take for granted in pretty short order.
This is as true in relationships as it is about the very fact that we wake each morning and go about our days involved in what we call the routine matters of life. Most of us don't wake up each morning with a conscious awareness that we have been "granted" another day of life, much less how much we have been given in the relationships we are blessed to have! Yet, a mother riddled with breast cancer, or a father weighed down by the crippling effects of Lou Gehrig's Disease whose lives are about to be cut short by the effects of their diseases, may see each new day or relationship they have been given in a totally different manner. Their delight with one more day to enjoy their family and friends may be foremost - bringing them great and immediate cause for celebration.
We need to be reminded that each day of sunshine is a blessing! Don't take one single day for granted. How do we develop this kind of awareness that God has given one more day for our use, our enjoyment? I think it is a conscious decision each and every day until it becomes an unconscious decision each and every day! We might have to "practice" our recognition of God in our day many times before it becomes "second-nature" to us to immediately recognize his graces in the moments we have been granted and those moments yet to come.
I have my clock radio set to the local Christian radio station. I know this seems like a small thing and a little too "religious" for some of you, but hear me out. The first thing I hear when I rise in the morning is beautiful melodies of praise - turning my heart to the worship of the very one who has granted me this day to enjoy. Now, this isn't the answer for everyone, but it works for me - it centers my thoughts, if even for a few moments, onto Jesus. I often even get little tidbits of truth spoken to me in the simplicity of a line from a song. There is no end to what God will use to convey his message of hope, his assurance of peace, or his challenge of obedience in our lives - we need to be open to the tools he uses.
Things all too quickly change - if we don't take advantage of the moments we have been given, we will always be looking back bemoaning the lost opportunities - especially those within relationship with each other and with God himself! It is too late to regain what "could have been" once the moment is lost. If we learn to live for the moment, conscious of God in each moment, we will have less regrets and more cause for praise! Just sayin!
How many light-filled hours have you been given on this earth? How many will you use to the fullest? It is just about time for the sun to creep slowly over the horizon and bring the light of a new day here. For those of us that live in Arizona, we don't celebrate the sun as much as we celebrate those infrequent breaks we get from the sun! A few clouds are a welcome thing once in a while around here - a relief from the scorching of the sun is accomplished in those passing shadows above. I imagine that those facing day after day of tornadoes, cloud cover, and incessant rain that produces flooding would love nothing more than to say, "Here comes the sun!" It is all about perspective - whatever we live with for a while becomes something we often take for granted in pretty short order.
This is as true in relationships as it is about the very fact that we wake each morning and go about our days involved in what we call the routine matters of life. Most of us don't wake up each morning with a conscious awareness that we have been "granted" another day of life, much less how much we have been given in the relationships we are blessed to have! Yet, a mother riddled with breast cancer, or a father weighed down by the crippling effects of Lou Gehrig's Disease whose lives are about to be cut short by the effects of their diseases, may see each new day or relationship they have been given in a totally different manner. Their delight with one more day to enjoy their family and friends may be foremost - bringing them great and immediate cause for celebration.
We need to be reminded that each day of sunshine is a blessing! Don't take one single day for granted. How do we develop this kind of awareness that God has given one more day for our use, our enjoyment? I think it is a conscious decision each and every day until it becomes an unconscious decision each and every day! We might have to "practice" our recognition of God in our day many times before it becomes "second-nature" to us to immediately recognize his graces in the moments we have been granted and those moments yet to come.
I have my clock radio set to the local Christian radio station. I know this seems like a small thing and a little too "religious" for some of you, but hear me out. The first thing I hear when I rise in the morning is beautiful melodies of praise - turning my heart to the worship of the very one who has granted me this day to enjoy. Now, this isn't the answer for everyone, but it works for me - it centers my thoughts, if even for a few moments, onto Jesus. I often even get little tidbits of truth spoken to me in the simplicity of a line from a song. There is no end to what God will use to convey his message of hope, his assurance of peace, or his challenge of obedience in our lives - we need to be open to the tools he uses.
Things all too quickly change - if we don't take advantage of the moments we have been given, we will always be looking back bemoaning the lost opportunities - especially those within relationship with each other and with God himself! It is too late to regain what "could have been" once the moment is lost. If we learn to live for the moment, conscious of God in each moment, we will have less regrets and more cause for praise! Just sayin!
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