14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. (James 4:14)
This is not a Carpe Diem post. While the whole idea of “seizing the day” is alluring, it is far from practical. Not every moment is an ascent to Everest. Many days are nothing more than surviving. Perhaps these are the days that make Everest moments intoxicated into memory. When we do succeed, it is the failures that make it possible.
Working with teens, I witness this weekly. I plan numerous events to engage the “next generation” through “relevant” tactics. Basically we attempt to manufacture great moments in hopes that kids see that Christ can indeed be fun. Yet when I look back at the man hours devoted to such events, I see little payoff. Most moments we remember are smaller wrinkles in time inside a bigger manufactured moment. They are the unplanned magic found in spontaneity. It’s the impromptu silly string fight, the conversation through a long commute to a forgettable “huge” youth event, or the time someone got stuck in the ceiling (true story). In the fractured moments of the everyday we find true life giving refreshment. These are where life change occurs. We can plan and plan but in the end, we are not in control of these moments. They happen, and we must be open to them.
Today, within the walls of a overbooked schedule, you will have moments of unplanned breakthrough. Whether at work or in parenting, those tiny glimpses of something better will shine through. Be open to them. Let them occur naturally and remind yourself who is in control.
Lord, provide us a moment today. An improvised time of depth and grace.
Matt simon blog 