The Value Of The Present

It doesn't exactly feel like Spring. The week brought cold rains and a bounty of snow to the nearby mountain tops. My garden flowers are doing their best to bloom but still crave warm sun. Nature lives in the present and always seems to thrive no matter whatever the weather brings.

I am discovering that the secret in life is to appreciate each day that I am given. I must truly value time and every present moment. I have usually been a person who tends to look ahead at tomorrow or dwells in what could or should have been in the past. Either view can be myopic and yet, joy awaits me now, today. . .

Perhaps, that is why I have thoroughly enjoyed the days this month of renewing several of my friendships. I have a treasure store of girl friends that have blessed me throughout the years. When we get together it's as if there's no lapse between the last time that we met. The laughter, the stories, the burdens that we share bind our hearts much closer, as if all that were a thread that weaves together a colorful tapestry of our lives. In them, I know that I am blessed for they have been bright blossoms for me when my skies were dark and gray.

So I am thankful for today, this very minute. I don't want to go through life and overlook the blessings that are right before me. It's easy to be like the Disciples and the people of that time who really didn't get Jesus or the purpose of his ministry. Sure they were awed by his miracles and all that He could perform, but they missed the most important aspect that they were in the very present company of all mighty God Himself. Standing before them, breathing with them, and walking the world with them was God's only begotten Son, their Savior. And yet, they seemed oblivious to the Value of that present Moment. . .

So instead, I want to value my present and all that God has blessed me with. I want to live my days in such a way that others will notice the value I see in them and in their lives. I want to impart God's favor toward them by sharing time with them. And in that, I find true value in being and living in the present.

"For I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see . . . and to hear the things which you hear . . ."
Luke 10:24

Comments

Easter Production

Driving down the freeway, the large billboard caught my eye. "Join us for our Easter Production," it beckoned with splashy brown and orange colors. It made me think, yes, that's what the resurrection of Jesus Christ has been reduced to. . . a man made production. Even this very day we celebrate, the headlines are all about the celebrities that attract the biggest Easter crowd. E.G. "Tim Tebow draws thousands to Texas Easter service." Once again, I had to think . . . who is Easter really about? What happened to "Jesus draws a crowd?" I have grown tired of celebrity worship. Yet, it seems in America that is what most Christians are interested in. We flock to mega churches, we drink in videos and studies all geared to keep us simple minded and complacent. No longer is theology a priority to be taught. No, it's better to read through the Bible in a year by reading only 5 minutes a day. Never mind, contemplating or discuss...

Close Encounters of the Spiritual Kind

" Put yourself in the path that God will work." (Pastor Martin Smith, 1/2024) On a crisp, clear Saturday morning, I started up the hill with Gypsy Rose eagerly leading the way. I was more caught up in the fresh air feeling that was invigorating, than paying attention to the few cars that passed us by. But there up ahead, a small red truck had slowed to the curb to flag me down. "Could I help him find his son's house?" He was an older gentleman with his phone in hand. He couldn't reach his son because the calls only went to voicemail, and he didn't have his address, only that it was somewhere here in Rancho. I googled his son for him, but unfortunately, it only brought up an older address which was the current address now for this man. There was no updated address for Rancho Cucamonga. I told him the bad news, but he was so very gracious. He did everything to show me that he was for real, pulling out his driver lice...

Awe

The thunder resounded with a loud clap! Certainly, it came as an afternoon surprise. The expected rain seemed less than what was forecasted, but with the thunder came a bucket of heavy raindrops splashing against my kitchen window. I wanted to take it all in, the fresh aroma of falling rain and the beauty of water drops hitting the leaves of my nasturtium and petunia hanging baskets. Unfortunately, the rain cloud quickly fled, running away into the eastern sky. But then the sun made its way onto the scene, and I was drawn to a thick band of rainbow colors shining up at me. The western sky was magnificently orange, completely bound up tight with that solo color scheme. I went outside to catch it all before it would disappear. Creation again was causing me to pause in awe and wonder. . . Awe is that reverential wonder, that even includes fear and respect. It is only a 3 letter word, but it takes bigger and grander words to define it....

Mary's Heartbeats

Search This Blog