Now What?
I recently returned from two, back-to-back missions trips to the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica spanning three full weeks. In returning and reflecting on those weeks I was struck by the question of, “Now What?” Everything in my normal life that I have returned to seems so unimportant and anti-climatic that is has been tough seeing it as being worth anything. There was such significance and depth to those three weeks of ministry and discipleship that returning to a job search, school prep., and grass mowing (which I still have not done) just seems pointless. This assessment is not limited to me alone but shared by a handful of those I spoke with that accompanied me on those trips. So, Now What? How do we re-embrace the lives we have with joy and passion, when those lives seem so incredibly insignificant? For me I think the answer is Opportunity. The difference between my life for those three weeks and my life now is that for those three weeks I was acutely aware of the opportunity that I had. I was breathing deeply and trying to capitalize on each moment, knowing that I was impacting children or students or friends or remote villagers in deep ways. Each moment was significant and meaningful. In my regular life I simply do not live with that same conviction in the value of this moment, the value of this day. Subsequently, today, Now, seems meaningless and pointless. I spend so much time living for tomorrow or in yesterday because I do not appropriately appreciate and value today. I am not enthralled with the opportunity of Now. Now is all we ever have and I way undervalue Now. Now is the time to sing. Now is the time to pray. Now is the time to read, and learn, and grow. Now is the time to laugh. Now is the time to cry. Now is the time to breathe deep and run hard. Now is the time to change my little world. Now is the time to be changed. Now is the time. Now is always the time. Lord, Jesus, please change my heart and my mind that I might understand the value of Now. That I might be exhilerated and excited about the possibilities and opportunities that Now contains. That I might run in the Now, without the fear of tomorrow’s unknown or the regret of yesterday’s failures. Thank you for the opportunity to live this moment as your child and in your love. Amen.�