A Waste or a Treasure

Recently my eight-year-old nephew said, “I can’t wait until I’m grown. I can do anything I want.”

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 1 Corinthians 13:11

We tried to explain to him that even as adults we cannot do everything we want, but our words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

This made me think about how often we wish our lives away.

As children we can’t wait to start school, for summer break to arrive, to be a teenager, to turn 16, to start driving, to graduate high school…

But the longing doesn’t end when we reach adulthood.  We began to long to turn 21…25…fall in love, get married, have a family, finish college, buy a car and/or home, find a job…

Do you take time to smell the roses

I’m guilty of longing for Friday afternoon, that next vacation or holiday, an event to arrive or be over, etc.

But, the day arrives and then what?  Do we wait for the next “event”?

The list of things that we long for are endless and many seem to go from looking forward from one event to another without ever stopping to {as the old saying goes}, “enjoy the roses”.   I have to admit there are too many times when I have been guilty of this wishing game.

But, listening to my nephew, I wondered how much do we miss out on.  Even when we want a circumstance to change, we still have so much to look forward to.  Often it’s the fun of the journey that makes the destination or milestone so special.

Treasure the Moments

Ecclesiastes 6:9 says, “Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.”

I am slowly learning that if I continue wishing my life away, one day I will be at the end of it and what will I have to show for all of this wishing?  Instead, I can choose to make the most of the moment and to be a blessing to all those I come into contact with. I pray that as my young nephew grows older and wiser, he will also learn the importance of treasuring the moment.

Do you wish your life away or choose to cherish the moment?