Living in the Present

I didn't have time to write today (which makes me sad, but sometimes life is like that). I did, however, read a poem that I wanted to share. It's from the book Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow, p. 108-109. She says it was written by a fourteen-year-old boy, but doesn't give his name. It struck a chord with me because I often have the same problem as the author.

It was spring but it was summer I wanted; the warm days and the great outdoors.
It was summer but it was fall I wanted; the colorful leaves and the cool dry air.
It was fall but it was winter I wanted; the beautiful snow and the joy of the holiday season.
It was now winter but it was spring I wanted; the warmth and the blossoming of nature.
I was a child but it was adulthood I wanted; the freedom and the respect.
I was twenty but it was thirty I wanted; to be mature and sophisticated.
I was middle-aged but it was twenty I wanted; the youth and the free spirit.
I was retired but it was middle-age that I wanted; the presence of mind without limitations.
My life was over but I never got what I wanted.

I struggle with wanting to be in other circumstances besides the one I am in. I forget that I am exactly where God has placed me at every moment, for His purpose. I am reminded of the quote by Jim Elliot: "Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God."

I so easily forget.