I just finished reading The Shack. I don't want to write a real review, because I know it's controversial. Some of you love it, some of you think it's too unorthodox, and some don't care.
Quite frankly, I don't want to get into a debate about its orthodoxy.
But I do want to mention one little thing, which I think we all can agree on. In the book, the main character was challenged about where he usually lives--or is it when?--in the past, in the present, or in the future?
And Mack has to admit he lives in the past and the future. He's either dwelling on what happened to him already, or he's thinking about the future.
Yet God lives with us in the present. He's in the past, and He's in the future, but He's present with us now. And if we're always in the past, or always in the future, we don't experience Him to the fullest.
I think that's true. I live in the future, mostly. I'm planning and thinking and yearning and dreaming. I have a very hard time just being in the moment. And I'm a big time efficiency type person. If I can't multi-task while I'm doing it, I don't do it. I need to be able to accomplish things. But isn't accomplisment itself an effort to live in the future?
I find it hard just to relax and enjoy life without feeling guilty. There's always something I should be doing.
And yet the moments that I will treasure with my kids or my husband are those when I was able to put all that aside and just BE; be in the present. When we live in th present, we listen to those around us. We look into their eyes and laugh, and share, and bond. When we live in the future we're somehow not always concentrating on them, even if the future that we're planning centres or revolves around them.
The only way to live in the present is to put stuff aside and just enjoy those who are with us. I know I've been on this role lately, but even with sex, we need to be in the present. If we're thinking about the future, or thinking, "let's just get it over with so I can...", then we're not in the present. We have to be in the present to concentrate on what's happening and enjoy it.
Or what about our kids? My post below about how disciplining our children leads to a much better relationship is so true. But often we're so focused on where we're trying to bring our kids that we don't always just play with them today. I'm not saying don't discipline; I'm just saying don't forget, in those years, to also enjoy your children.
What is it that our human hearts long for? It's connection, isn't it? Connection with others, and connection with God. But we can only connect with others when we decide that we will stop sacrificing the present for the future (or the past, if that's where you're stuck). We can only connect with our husbands when we give them our full attention. And we can only really experience God if we give Him time. So often we just rhyme off a list of requests we have of God without just listening to Him to find out what He has to say to us TODAY.
He does have a message for you today. He doesn't want you to concentrate only on storing up your barns, or building treasures (even if those are good treasures). He also wants your undivided heart, and sometimes we divide our hearts because we're focusing on what type of family we're building, or career, or even ministry.
No matter what you're focused on today, make sure you take some time to put some of that aside and look deeply into someone's eyes. Remember to laugh. Remember to listen. Remember to pray.
That's a hard thing for me to do, because I have so many goals. But I'm going to try to practice it now. Will you?
About Me: I'm a Christian author of a bunch of books, and a frequent speaker to women's groups and marriage conferences. Best of all, I love homeschooling my daughters, Rebecca and Katie. And I love to knit. Preferably simultaneously.
Stumble It!
Excellent, excellent post!! Thanks so much for the timely reminder.