Seize the Day

Now there's an idea whose time has come! Carpe' Deum as the Latinos would say (or was it the Romans?) I'd love to seize the day, live in the moment, take the bull by the horns and go for the gusto. So what's holding me back? What am I afraid of?

Some days it seems more appropriate to ask "what am I not afraid of?"
I'd love to be here right now, savoring the moment, living life to the full . . .
but - you know I really should be going. There must be somewhere else I need to be - perhaps even two places at the same time.

Has the pace of life really increased? I heard a statistic about young adults: that they experience an average of 10.5 hours of media (radio, TV, movies, phone conversations, websites) in only 8 hours of Real Time. Now that's multi-tasking. But I'm not sure it's healthy. In fact I'm quite convinced that it's not.

"Don't forget to take time to stop and smell the roses." I've always heard.
Can't remember the last time I walked by a bed of roses. Maybe I was moving too fast.
I do recall taking walks with small children. That'll slow you down. Probably help you live longer too. They don't just stop to smell the roses, they stop to taste things! And another thing you learn from kids; the shortest distance between two points may be a straight line - but that's NO WAY to take a walk.

The pace is enough to kill you. But is there another destination besides the grave?
Stephen Covey asks the question "The Clock or the Compass?" to remind us that speed and efficiency are worthless if we have no direction.
I have to constantly remind myself of things that will last: personal character, relationships with people, but most of all, KNOWING GOD!
This restores my focus on both direction and destination. I like to say, "The end is the end." Profound huh? For those more theologically and philosophically inclined, "Eschatology is Teleology." Our destination should determine our values, purpose and direction.

I have had a hard time finding the sun this winter. You can take that literally (after all, it's Ellensburg) or metaphorically. This may affect my sundial, but not my compass.
Anyway, feeling a bit "under the weather" emotionally (let him who has ears, hear) - my wife suggested maybe I should read Jeremiah. I did, and it got me even more depressed.

However, there are some real gems tucked away in there. For example, in ch. 9:23-24 it warns us not to boast in wisdom or strength or riches, but in understanding and knowing the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth. That's an awesome truth to re-focus on.

Then in ch. 22:15-16 he refers to a king who did what was right and just. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. The question is asked: "Is that not what it means to know me? declares the Lord." As I gear up for another Spring Break trip to Mexico to build a house for a family in need, it is good to know that helping the poor is an important part of what it means to know the Lord.

A couple of authors have encouraged "wasting time with God" because the best context for knowing Him is to spend time alone in His presence. Funny thing. The only time we can really do that is NOW. Now is the "when" for meeting with God.

Sure we have memories of what God has done in the past. We are encouraged to remember those and think about God. And we must keep hope alive for all the promises He will fulfill in the future. But the promise of His presence is strictly in the present. "Lo, I Am with you always!"

So seize this day. Live in the NOW. Be yourself with integrity and be with your friends and family fully. But most of all, be in His presence and enjoy KNOWING Him.