Embrace Today
If you could have any superpower what would it be? I saw that question in a series of “getting to know you” articles about colleagues at work which led me to wonder what I would choose. It didn’t take long before I settled on my decision…the ability to control time. Pause it. Rewind it. Fast Forward it. Whatever best fits a moment.
Who hasn’t wanted to linger a little longer inside a perfect day, cherish more time with family and friends, halt the aging clock, redo something we regret, fast forward through a difficult circumstance, or simply have time to stop and take a breath amidst the hectic pace of life?
While I certainly wouldn’t endorse everything he’s ever said or written, one of my favorite songs years ago was “Stop This Train” by John Mayer. His lyrics give an honest voice to that internal human longing to halt the breakneck speed at which life seems to move:
Stop this train / I want to get off and go home again / I can’t take the speed it’s moving in / I know I can’t / But, honestly, won’t someone stop this train?
So scared of getting older / I’m only good at being young / So I play the numbers game / To find a way to say that life has just begun
Had a talk with my old man / Said, “Help me understand” / He said, “Turn sixty-eight / You’ll renegotiate”
“Don’t stop this train / Don’t for a minute change the place you’re in / And don’t think I couldn’t ever understand / I tried my hand / John, honestly, we’ll never stop this train”
Sometimes we need a little fatherly wisdom spoken into our lives. His father is right. As appealing as it may seem, we aren’t able, nor are we meant, to manipulate time. Ultimately, I believe you could boil down his advice “don’t for a minute change the place you’re in” to a single word…contentment.
Often times, the underlying motivation for wanting to control time is we’re not content where we are. When we’re young, we want to be older. When we’re older, we want to be young. When life moves too fast, we want it to slow down. When life moves too slow, we get bored. When things are good, we don’t want them to change. When things are bad, change can’t come soon enough.
Make no mistake, contentment is not about settling. There is nothing wrong with seeking to grow and improve oneself or one’s circumstances. Sometimes it takes the very pangs of discontentment to motivate us to positive action.
Contentment is about appreciating and making the best of the place God has us right now, rather than idealizing the past or living to attain the next thing we believe we must have to be satisfied.
What if we embraced where we are today in faith that God is sovereign over our days and he has us where we are for a reason?
“All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:16
What if we began each day, as Moses prays in Psalm 90, recognizing our days are numbered and looking to the Lord alone to satisfy our souls and give the wisdom, love, and joy we need for each day, whatever circumstance we find ourselves in?
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” Psalm 90: 12,14
What if we, like the Apostle Paul, learn that the secret to contentment is not found in ourselves? Like Paul, we can be content in all circumstance when we look to Christ to strengthen us.
“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:11-13
Is choosing contentment along our journey easy? Not necessarily. Sometimes it’s a real struggle. But, in doing so, we position ourselves to more fully embrace today.