Living For When and Then

Sometimes I feel like I’m living for when and then.

It seems like my entire life has been spent waiting for something.

As a child it was waiting for Christmas, waiting for summer vacation, waiting to be big enough.

I waited for those milestone birthdays…10, 16, 18, 21.

I waited to graduate from high school, only to begin the wait to graduate from college.

I waited to have a child, then began waiting on all of her milestones.

At this point in my life I find myself waiting for the day when I can retire so I will have more time to do the things that I want to do. In the meantime I wait for doctor’s appointments, for the weekend to arrive, for the next family event or gathering.

I often find myself thinking in terms of future possibilities. 

When I’m 16, then I’ll be able to drive and go where I want to go.

When I’m 18, then I’ll be an adult and be able to make my own decisions (that one didn’t turn out to be as fun as I thought it would be).

When I get married and have a family, then I will be happy.

When I get that raise, then I’ll have enough.

When I retire, then I’ll have more time to do the things God wants me to do.

I start feeling like I just have to suffer through life until I get to what I really want…but when I get there, there’s always another “then”. So I find myself in a perpetual waiting game for when and then.

And the final event? When I see Jesus, either because He came back or I’ve gotten to heaven, then everything will make sense, then I’ll know all the answers, then I can stop looking for the next thing to wait for, then I’ll know what to do, then I can finally relax.

But what if I started living more like that now?

What if today was a day when I could just enjoy the present and stop looking for the next thing?

What if where I am right now is a place to stop, and rest, and enjoy life?

What if there’s something I am supposed to do today that I won’t see if I’m constantly looking ahead?

Jesus came to give us abundant life–not just when we get to heaven, but also here on earth.

We weren’t made to be constantly striving for what’s next.

We weren’t made to just wait for good things until we get to heaven.

Sometimes we might need to stop thinking about when and then, and start thinking about now and until.

There are things that I can do today to spend my time well in ordinary ways.

I can look for ways to help in the places where I find myself today.

I can seek His Kingdom now in the beauty around me.

I can let Him guide, and steer, and direct my course trusting that He knows the where, when, and how of the plan.

I can do all of my usual ordinary things and be content, knowing that I am not in charge of my timeline. I can go about my regular everyday schedule knowing that the next big thing will get here at the appointed time no matter what I do today. 

I can have His peace guarding my mind and my heart knowing that He already has my plan figured out. All I have to do is go along with it and stop trying to change it, speed it up, or slow it down.

Living for when and then can often bring discontentment and anxiety.

Living in the now and until–trusting God with when and then–brings me peace.

So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. 

2 Thessalonians 1:11

Do you find yourself living for when and then?

What is He asking you to do now, until then arrives?