Be Here Now: Learning Contentment

“Be here now”

For those of you who have worked at Eagle Lake Camp in Colorado Springs, this phrase is very familiar to you. This is what we would say to the kids anytime they would ask what is next. “When is free time?” “When do we get to eat lunch?” “When is free time?!” Our response: “Be here now”. I find it funny sometimes that I was the person telling these kids to be in the moment and to be content because this has always seemed to be something I have struggled with.

Although there have been times when I have found myself stuck in the past, I tend to be a dreamer. I usually think about the future more than anything. When you are young, you have dreams about getting older, driving and having your first car, meeting your first girlfriend (or boyfriend), graduating high school, college, and then someday getting married and having a family. At least, that is the way it was for me. Now that I have done most of those things, I still dream. I’m not saying that dreaming is bad but I have found that when it starts getting in the way of being content in the present, it can become a problem.

If you ask Lynea or I what we want in life, we will both reply that we want have a family. It actually wasn’t long after we were married that we had our first baby “scare.” Through that, we actually realized how badly we want to be parents. We became very attached to the idea of having a child and even though we knew it was for the best, it was hard to accept the fact that we weren’t pregnant. For many reasons, having a baby right now wouldn’t be the smartest idea. But even though I know that, it has been so easy to entertain the idea that a few times I have forgotten to just enjoy being married. There are so many blessings to being married without the responsibility of a child! I love Lynea very much and absolutely love being married to her. As we have gone through this season of our life where we get the blessing of getting to focus solely on one another, what I continue to realize is that I need to take advantage of this time to learn how to love her best before we, or God, decides to introduce another member into our family. I need to be content where I am.

Even if we can’t have a baby…or a puppy, a kitten, or even a different job, God is teaching me to trust him and be here now.

I wanted to share this with you because I remember being in a place before getting married where I thought marriage would cure discontentment and the desire for more, but in reality it doesn’t. Marriage is a huge blessing, but by no means does it just cure your problems.

And neither will anything else you may dream of having. Or any relationship you dream of being in. So whether you are single, married, young, or old; don’t focus on what you don’t have or where the grass may be greener, because honestly, the grass is greenest right where you are. God has so much for you right where you are.

Matthew 6:34 says, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." This verse is a good reminder that no matter what stage of life I am in, God has things he wants to teach me here and now. If I am focusing on the past, or on what may come in the future, there will probably be something really important I miss today. Don't miss out on what God has for you today because you are so focused on what may come tomorrow. Be here now.