Seize the Day

                                                      September 18th, 2023

   In 1995, Carolyn Arends released an album, I Can Hear You, with the song Seize the Day. Nearly 30 years ago, the lyrics resonated with me and still do. There are times, like today, that the chorus sings it’s way into my mind. 

Seize the day ' seize whatever you can

'Cause life slips away just like hourglass sand

Seize the day ' pray for grace from God's hand

Then nothing will stand in your way

Seize the day.

    Later this week, Unconditional will be one of the vendors at the NEW Pride event. It has been a few years since we have been a presence there. In 2019, a storm blew in that caused the organizers to shut it down. We had not even had the chance to set up or we may have been left with a bent and twisted Easy-Up. Tha pandemic put many things on hold and we did not have the opportunity at all. Last year the event was changed from June to September and we missed out again. So, 2023 finds us with an opportunity to represent Christ in a space we generally don’t find ourselves. 

   In God's remarkable way, those lyrics reminded me of what is important. The opportunity of being able to embrace people where they are now. The gift of showing them through a smile. Eye contact expressing a sincere interest in what they have to say. Just being available to give a hug and a hand. No agenda. No bait and switch. Just being present and knowing God can and will allow us to reflect His Son. It is in the small things, many times not visible and certainly not in ways that draw an audience. 

   I have found that God works not only mysteriously, but in minute small things. Every day that God gives me breath and continues allowing my heart to beat, He gives me a role in His Kingdom here on earth. I am blown away by how gracious and generous that gift is. God doesn’t need me, yet he allows me to be a part of his supernatural plan. One day at a time, opportunities flowing into my life like a bubbling brook. 

   Am I looking? Am I listening? I am in this moment, yet I know I have let some things slip through my hands just like the hourglass sand. He has brought people into my seemingly small world in countless ways. I have not always seen them. I have not always actively listened. I have hustled and strived doing what I wanted for myself and missed others completely.

    Living on this side of life, as both a grandma and still a daughter, I have a perspective and can see life in a way I never did before. So much has increased in value. People matter to me like never before. I have a desire to lean in, to listen and to love in a way that seems to grow daily. 

    Finally, I am learning to seize the day and embrace life and the lives of others significantly and to see beauty in simplicity. So much can be learned and make a difference when I do. I learn a new level of appreciation and understanding I may not have had before. I may make a deposit into the life of another who may have been empty, perhaps feeling as if they had no value.

    It is on this side of life I finally have a greater understanding of the give and take when it comes to myself. The more I give, the more I receive. That isn’t the goal, yet it is how things seem to work, definitely in God's economy. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38

   If you have ever given of yourself, especially when it wasn’t easy or your first inclination, how did you feel afterwards? Joyful? Fulfilled? Content? Peaceful? When I have given out of what Christ has given me, I am fulfilled in a way unlike any other. When I seize the day, those fleeting, never to come again opportunities, I know I have done what I am created to do. Living a life out of abundance and an awareness of the hourglass of time I am living. 

   I have let so much slip through my fingers and I desire to make the most of today. Lord God, it is out of Your generosity I give. Help me to remember how quickly time passes and seize each day. For your glory.

    What about you? Are you living life as if you have unlimited time and there is always tomorrow? Or are you seizing the day before you?

                                              I’d love to hear your thoughts, leave a comment below. ❤️