I love Christmas. It’s August, and I’m considering putting together one of those red and green construction paper chains that you make to tear off a link every day until Christmas, but I don’t really want to cut out 150 strips of construction paper. Christmas is my absolutely favorite time of year, but there are 364 (365 if it’s a leap year) other days of the year.
If I spent all of my time pining away for December 25th, I would be a major bore. People would probably get sick of me asking what they wanted for Christmas or talking constantly about what I was planning to eat for Christmas dinner. It might hurt people’s feeling if I spent my entire birthday talking about what I hoped to get for Christmas. I would really miss out on a lot of other fun days if all I could think about was Christmas.
While it seems ridiculous that someone would act that way about one day during the year, sometimes I think I’m guilty of the something similar. I find myself looking forward to the friends who are coming to visit next week, the trip I’m taking next fall, or even getting married and having kids in a few years. Sometimes, I can be so focused on what’s coming next that I forget to enjoy what’s going on right now.
Looking back, I didn’t fully enjoy a lot of the great moments of my life because I was looking forward to the next time I got to see a guy I had a crush on, the next school year, or college.
Elizabeth and Jim Elliot spent most of their dating relationship living apart from one another. If you’re not familiar with their story, read Passion and Purity by Elizabeth Elliot – it’s quite an incredible testimony! In one of his letters to Elizabeth, Jim said “Wherever you are, be all there.” That’s quite an incredible statement. They were in love with each other and planning to get married, but living on opposite sides of the world. It would have been very easy for them to spend most of their time sitting around wanting to be together. Instead, Jim was encouraging Elizabeth to be fully present doing what God had called her to do.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with having things that you look forward to. It’s totally godly to have dreams and goals, but it’s when we start to look forward so much that we forget to enjoy where we’re at presently that we run into trouble.
So, enjoy where you are right now. Even if you’re going through a rough time, embrace it. Watch out for what God is trying to show you today, even through the tough spots. God has you where you are for a reason, so take advantage of it.