Staying in the Present

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. - James 4:13-17

This past week there was a lot of anxiety around the election, what was going on, when it would be called, and when a transition would be clear and certain. It’s been trying for all of us.

Then add on top of that how hard it’s been to plan vacations this year… and how about birthday parties? Or even what day the kids are going to start school or when you can go to the gym? This season has been brutal for those of us who like to plan, who like to feel some certainty about the future. And yet in some ways it’s been a gift because it’s forced us to realize how little real control we have in the world, and how important it is to live in the present.

So how are you managing the discomfort of not being able to plan? And have you been aware of any side benefits of not being able to know the future as well as you used to?

Take a few breaths right now and settle into your body and become aware of the gift that this moment, right now is. See if you can find Jesus in it somewhere and talk with him about all the different things that uncertainty is bringing up for you.