Enjoy The Moment
“Stop now. Enjoy the moment. It’s now or never.” ~ Maxime Lagace
I have a friend who is rather spontaneous. I am a planner. We used to vacation together at the beginning of every year. And every year, it was the same. I would ask him to commit to what days he was coming down so that I could make reservations for dinners. I made the reservations at 180 days out because there are many restaurants that fill up and cannot be booked as the time gets closer. Yet, there are times I cannot even get what restaurants he might like to go to at the 180 day mark. The same held for flights. I arranged our pick up and return to the airport. I booked my flights as soon as the booking window opened. He booked a month or so ahead of the actual trip.
Being a planner, I was in the position to claim more than a fair bit of frustration. I wanted to know things way ahead of time. I wanted to plan for things as well as plan for alternatives in case the original plan failed. Sometimes, I have my head squarely in what might happen months away and fail to see what is happening right here, right now.
In order to keep myself somewhat rooted in the here and now, I begin every day when I am opening the chapel or when I am getting ready for my morning Mass by saying to the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the tabernacle, “Thank you, Lord, for another day of life.” It might seem a bit simplistic; however, it forces me to quit thinking about the rest of the day and, instead, take that very moment to be with the Lord. As I walk away from the tabernacle, I ask Him to watch over my day and help me to make the right decisions. I usually ask for pardon, as well, for the poor decisions I may have made the day before.
It is difficult to keep oneself centered. In today’s hectic world, there are so many distractions that come our way. There are so many options and opportunities. There are so many invitations. Yet, most of those are options, opportunities, and invitations that lead us away from God rather than toward Him. In all the planning we do, as well as in our spontaneous decisions, we need to ask God to be a part of our deliberations so that we opt for the right thing.
It helps us to keep centered if we begin our day in praise and gratitude to God.
FAITH ACTION: God sustained your life yet another day. Stop whatever it is you were about to do and take some time to thank God for this very moment.