I’m guessing you think I have that title out of order. Well perhaps I do, if you expected things to be listed chronologically. But for this post I prefer to list things in priority order.
The past is behind us, so there’s nothing much we can do about it. The future lies ahead, and does merit some consideration, but it’s not here just yet, so it’s important we not let it become a distraction. The only time and experience we have in our possession is what is taking place at the present moment. Our life is simply a series of present moments all strung together. If we want to make the most of our life, we need only make the most of the moment we’re in.
At church the other day our priest offered a little proverb I hadn’t heard before: Trust the past to God’s mercy, the future to his providence, and the present to his love. I like it. And here’s one I came up with myself. One definition of anxiety is “fearful anticipation of the future”. I need a word to capture something I’d like to replace that with: “faithful appreciation of the present”. Hmm, now that I think about it, perhaps that’s a good definition for “peace”.
Enjoy the moment. Peace be with you.