Living Our Best Life

I learn a lot from the folks I encounter. I once had a young woman tell me that despite her myriad of issues, she was still living her best life. She said that while her depression and anxiety weren’t a choice, she did have a choice about how she lived her life. Bam! It is a simple but profound and often overlooked truth in our generation.

Seneca, an ancient Roman philosopher, said, “Begin at once to live, and count each day as a separate life…True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing.”

What if living our best lives is a decision that is independent of circumstances but utterly dependent on our ability to live in the present? I’ve got enough experience in the mental health field to know there is no benefit in mental time traveling, constantly going from the past to the future. Our should’s lie in the past. “Should have done better; shouldn’t have done that.” And our “what ifs” lie in our future musings. “What if I lose my job? What if my spouse has an affair?” When digging into the past or future tripping, we miss the ever-amazing present moments!

I often remind myself that I am living in the fulfillment of answered prayers. Despite the anxiety, the pressures, and the crisis-de-jours, my life is a testament to the faithfulness of God. We take so much for granted when we live a time-traveling life. Jason Clark says eternal life begins the moment we start “living in the ever present now.”

When I met my husband, I had a quick God vision and saw him baptizing someone. I tucked God’s promise in my mind and pondered it when times were hard. On Sunday at church, I suddenly realized that my vision had been fulfilled at the Jordan River in Israel when my husband participated in my baptism. The person I had seen Nathan baptizing all those years ago in a vision was me! Wowzers! And it happened in the Holy Land! There I was, living in the fulfillment of my most precious hope and dream, and I didn’t notice. In all the excitement that day, I neglected to live in the precious moment.

God says that He wants to give us “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us (Eph 3:20).” Perhaps part of that power that works within us is the power to slow down and stop future-tripping and enjoy this life we’ve been given.

David, Israel’s Poet King, said, “This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” Jesus, our Carpenter King, said to seek his kingdom first, and all our other needs will be added to us. Following that challenge, he reminds us not to worry about tomorrow — because each day has its problems. From that, I hear Jesus telling me that sufficient is the grace for each day.

You have all the ingredients you need to live your best life there. If we spend time wishing all our problems would go away so we can enjoy our life, we are wising in one hand, which means our other hand is full of nothing good! Slow down. Enjoy your hot shower and morning coffee. Listen to the birds celebrating springtime. And count each day as a new and separate chance to live your best life.