"Living in the Moment"

I had a great weekend. I had the kind of weekend my soul needed.

Saturday I spent a good few hours outside. I had a picnic in a cemetery. I know that might be creepy to most, but it wasn’t. Or it wasn’t to me. I picked the picnic that destination. Cemeteries have always been a tranquil place for me to be. Sitting on the blanket underneath the tree, thinking about all of the stories that are enveloped inside. To think of all the history laying beneath the ground. And to think of all the comfort that is drawn from visits. Even in times of great sadness, I think those feelings can come full circle there. Following the picnic was a game of scrabble played outside on giant cement steps of a school campus. No one was there but us. We were in the shade, yet it was still warm out. And following that was dinner and a long conversation of randomness. I didn’t get home until just after midnight. Good company. Good memories made.

Today I got up and went to church. What was different about today was the longing I had to go to church. I *needed* to go to church. I have been praying very hard for a friend of mine. I won’t get into details because it’s his story to tell (or not tell), not mine. But his sister isn’t doing so well. She's in the hospital and her life is very fragile right now. I can honestly say that I haven’t prayed this hard in a very long time. I’ve been praying for his sister. I’ve been praying for him. I’ve been praying for his family. I’ve been praying for physical changes to occur to help things go the right way. I’ve been praying for answers, I’ve been praying for miracles. I know that God is in control. I know that regardless of the outcome, He has a reason for all of this taking place. But that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with situations like this. So I’ve been doing all that I can do… I’ve been praying. I hurt for him and his family and everything they are feeling right now. I needed to go to church now more than ever because I needed to have my spiritual cup filled up again. And when I got to church, the worship songs were perfect. It was like Jesus was reaching out to me and telling me that it was going to be okay. He was going to give me the strength that I needed to persevere, not just in regards to praying for my friend and his family, but for my life in general as well. And as the pastor began the message, I sat there looking at the bulletin of notes and thought “eh. This one looks like it’s going to be boring. Bummer”. Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong. That message hit home. It was all about listening to God. And I mean really listening. Because he has a plan for all of us, but sometimes we need to focus really hard on Him and ask the hard questions and wait for the even tougher answers to come. I need to rely on Him that He has a master plan for me, I just need to listen (and obey). The message was wrapped up with us being encouraged to fast. Fast from whatever was grabbing our attention the most.. Food, tv, work, music, movies… whatever it may be, fast from it and instead use that time to focus on the Lord and His word so that we can try to see the path we are supposed to be on right now.

Even further irony was on my way to church I decided to listen to my Jason Mraz cd. Track number 2 is “Living in the moment”. For whatever reason I paid closer attention to the music and the words and it really hit home. I listened to it on repeat all the way to church. The lyrics spoke to me so clearly that I feel as though it’s on my life’s soundtrack. I’m listing the words below as well as including the link to hear the song. It’s going to be a part of my motto.

So now you see what I mean when I started off by saying that this weekend was exactly what my soul needed. I was able to get outside and just enjoy life. I've been able to be there as support to my friend and then go to church and be spiritually fed so that I can continue to try to be an encouragement to him. I spent the rest of the day with my parents. It was a truly good weekend.




LIVING IN THE MOMENT
By Jason Mraz




If this life is one act
Why do we lay all these traps
We put them right in our path
When we just wanna be free
I will not waste my days
Making up all kinds of ways
To worry about all the things
That will not happen to me
So I just let go of what I know I don't know
And I know I only do this by

Living in the moment
Living my life
Easy and breezy
With peace in my mind
I got peace in my heart
Got peace in my soul
Wherever I'm going, I'm already home
I'm living in the moment

I'm letting myself off the hook for things I've done
I let my past go past
And now I'm having more fun
I'm letting go of the thoughts
That do not make me strong
And I believe this way can be the same for everyone
And if I fall asleep
I know you'll be the one who'll always remind me

To live in the moment
To keep living my life
Easy and breezy
With peace in my mind
I got peace in my heart
Got peace in my soul
Wherever I'm going, I'm already home

I can't walk through life facing backwards
I have tried
I tried more than once to just make sure
And I was denied the future I'd been searching for
I spun around and hurt no more

By living in the moment
Living my life
Easy and breezy
With peace in my mind
I got peace in my heart
Got peace in my soul
Wherever I'm going, I'm already home

I'm living in the moment
I'm living my life
Just taking it easy
With peace in my mind
I got peace in my heart
I got peace in my soul
Oh, wherever I'm going, I'm already home

I'm living in the moment