Enjoying the Moment

BIBLICAL POINT OF REFERENCE:

"So, do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

~Matthew 6:34

I was watching a pre-game interview for the NFL Playoff game between the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs. On the New England Patriots team, there are twin players Devin and Jason McCourty, and Jason said something that struck me. Both brothers have been in the NFL for a while (nearly 10 seasons) but Devin won the Super Bowl twice and Jason had yet to make it to the playoffs. Now they are playing on the same team in the playoffs and the interviewer asked Jason if he was really hoping for a Super Bowl win this season with his brother. What Jason said really stuck with me. He said: “I haven’t even had that thought process yet. For me, I can’t even think that far ahead. Because I don’t want to miss something along the way.”

A little louder for myself and the people in the back: I DON’T WANT TO MISS SOMETHING ALONG THE WAY. I have been guilty the past year (and pretty much all time before now) anticipating and planning for my future. For those that don’t know, I have the goal of becoming a Physician Assistant (and Professor after becoming a practicing PA). When asked this past New Year’s Eve what the best part of 2018 was, all I could say was all the work I have put into PA school applications and careers in 2019. Now, I am not saying that planning in the future is bad, but when we focus so intently on what happens tomorrow, we might, as Jason McCourty said, miss something along the way. God is calling us to live in His love, live in his plan RIGHT NOW. He has GREAT plans for our future – “Look at the nations and watch - and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told” (Habakkuk 1:5). Those plans take on substance and build into our lives in the present moment.

Think about the Catholic Liturgical season, Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time comprises the most time in the liturgical year. We have such amazing seasons like Christmas, Easter, and Lent, but we spend the most amount of time in Ordinary Time. I asked a priest while in college what his favorite liturgical season is, and to my great surprise he said Ordinary Time. When asked why he replied, “Because the Lord is forming and molding us during that time to be better prepared for the upcoming seasons.” Forming and molding us. Laying the bedrock that He will build upon. Let us take this as an invitation, an invitation to live in the moment we have been given, rooted in the knowledge that we are known, seen, loved. Knowing that the work we are doing now, the work that God is doing in us, is real and is extraordinary in every moment.

I will leave you with this prayer:

Lord, let me be present in this moment.

Let me live humbly, lovingly, generously.

Let me trust in you so fully that I have no fear of the future.

You support and guide me with your power and perfect plan.

I offer you everything, as your blessed Mother did.

I put my trust in you, O Lord.

Your Sassy Sister,

Kristine

P.S. My deepest thanks to Callahan for letting me guest write on her blog. Much love to you, dear.