Be here now

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. " Matthew 6:34, The Message Bible

"Tomorrow is a mystery, yesterday is history, today is a gift- that's why we call it present." Kung Fu Panda

We seem to have this tendency to avoid the present. Some of us find it unfulfilling, others boring, some of us are just afraid to live- take a risk, make a decision, take that step. For others, it's either the past consuming them with what happened to them or what they did, or is the future as a form of escape from a past that hurts and a present that doesn't seem to bring anything. I personally chose to live everywhere else but in the present. Present meant choices and choices meant possible failure, so no thank you. Present is scary because you have to grab God's hand and take the step without knowing where you are going. You know the past and you can dream about the future, but present implies action now. You see, I had to learn that if I am serious about seeking God, than I have to start with the present because this is where God is for me. He is not limited by time and space, but I am. I can't travel back in time and I can't foresee the future, so if He wants to have a relationship with the limited me, it has to be here and now. All this meant I had to face my fears of living and of failure and that's something scary, to say the least. It was a good lesson though. I learnt that the past is frozen and it can no longer be altered so I don't focus on it anymore, and I learnt that there's no point in spending my hours trying to guess the future because it's not going to be like anything that I imagine now anyway. Who I am and what I do today, can be altered by the decisions that I make today. Present feels so real because it is the only moment in time that we can actually touch. The only function of time is to pass, and how I pass with it is my choice. To live in the present has it's benefits such as, preserving your energy- rather than running in three opposite directions that will lead to nowhere, you focus on one direction, one step at a time, determined not to give up. Another benefit, is that you are more difficult to distract. I heard a preacher once saying that the hell's strategy has always been the same for us- Distract, Discourage, Defeat. The only way I may focus on my goal is to look into one direction- ahead.
These days I have decisions to make and they're as frightening as they are exciting, but I am grateful to God for teaching me the lesson of the here and now. I'll go ahead and if it's failure, it will be another lesson that I learn:-)

"If God brought you to the edge of the cliff- jump. He will either catch you, or teach you how to fly."

"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them." (Isaiah 42:16)
"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." (Psalm 32:8)

Have a peaceful day.

Emanuela