I AM present

I just got to visit with a friend I haven't seen in a few months.  We got to catching up and the conversation soon steered towards our general state of contentment.
He shared some stuff going on in his world.
I got to share some of my thoughts from the past two weeks of preaching/teaching about thankfulness.

• Some people spend their whole life looking back on what was or what could have been.  They are not very thankful or content.
• Others spend their life looking ahead to the next stage.  They are never present in the moment- with work, family or God.  Again, not very content.
• Some just are.  They don't look back, but they don't make plans or have dreams for the future.  They often seem to lose the passion that goes along with a thankful and content life.

So where's the balance?
Proverbs 16:9 "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps."

People are going to be wired differently, but all of us need to find the balance of planning our course, then surrendering it to God.  Looking back enough to gain insight, looking forward enough to know where we're going, but living fully in the present.

I once read a quote about God declaring Himself, "I AM."
He didn't say he was; He didn't say He will be.
He said, "I AM."
That's not the fullness of what God was getting at in that revelation, but it's still a great insight.
God is fully present in the moment.
And no matter what the past held, or future holds, we are best used, and most thankful and content,
when we are most fully present.

So today, take cue from God, and declare "I am going to be fully present.  I am going to be thankful."