GRATEFUL

You have all heard the stories…I’ll never get a man/woman, I’ll never be rich, I’ll never be like them…fill in the blanks on what you will never be or never get. For me it was a job.  I always wanted to fly on a medivac as a paramedic or a nurse but for 30 years I was told to wait.  Not by anyone particular other than God i suppose,  but either way I was in a waiting desert and just moved on.  I stopped applying and put it in the rear view as something I was never going to do.  But I digress as this isn’t about me but generally about all of us constantly chasing the more and more and more never enjoying where we are in the present.  

We meet the person of our dreams and forget that moment and begin to search for ways to tweak it fix it “make it better” to fit it in the little box for the ultimate,a soul mate.  In fact that will never happen because frankly we forget to be grateful for where we are in the present.  We get bogged down with the future planning planning and planning without taking stock of the blessings we have now.  You are constantly searching for the better friend/spouse/fill in the blank, you are eroding the present position you are in. Think about that for a minute…why cant i have a relationship like them, why cant i be successful like them, why cant i be organized or have great looks etc etc.  Concentration on what you dont have, constantly comparing yourself to others erodes you current position in life.  For arguments sake lets say you achieve it all….best spouse, best car, best house, best kids, best ever life.  Soon while looking forward you decide there must be something better and your best life becomes second best to say a new friend, car, life etc and you begin searching while eroding your current position.  The cycle continues leading to second and third marriages, neglected kids, poor home life, loss of friends, depression, anger on and on.  

Oh there are many books and therapist out there to tell you how to fix it all.  7 steps to fix this or that or therapy for life, friends that tell you what you want to hear rather than being brutally honest at the risk of losing you as a friend because they don’t understand you.  But the real answer is to stop looking, stop comparing, stop wanting to be someone else and be the person that God made you to be. Stop feeling like everything is an attack on you personally.  Be grateful in your current position.  Be grateful for what you have in front of you. Stop searching for better and settle for good enough.  God gives you what you need daily, his grace is sufficient if you just let it be.  If we live in the moment being grateful for what we have, without letting the demons driving us away from that taking over our daily thoughts (your house is a mess, the kids are lazy, my spouse is a jerk, my friends do things without me etc) and replace that with gratefulness (my spouse loves me, my kids are healthy and good, my friends are few but awesome).  

Back to me.  30 years after deciding to move on God moved in.  A job popped up out of the blue, I was moved to apply by my dearest friend, and after a few obstacles that I was sure was going to derail my attempt, a conversation with God that his will be done not mine, the per deim job on a flight team was offered and taken.  Years later out of the blue full time came at a most unexpected time.  12 years later I’m still at it.  My point is our timeline is not God’s.  When we wait on God it’s torture sometimes but suddenly in his time he moves you to where he wants you to be….in his time.  God made you for his purposes to be the best you can be in the present. The past is gone the future is already written by God, live in the moment and be grateful.