One of the iconic voices of my youth was Carly Simon, a folksy balladeer of the late 60’s and early 70’s that took over a generation of listeners with her confessional lyrics and unforgettable choruses. What person of my age doesn’t remember trying to figure out who “You’re So Vain” was directed to (I think it was James Taylor 😁), or spent a week memorizing every word of “Mockingbird.” But the best of the best, at least to my way of thinking, is the huge hit, “Anticipation.”
It is a song about planning ahead, looking to the future, but also learning to live in the present. “We can never know about the days to come,” she says, “but we think about them anyway.” And it’s important that we do. Forward thinking, goal setting, “anticipation” is what propels us on in life to do better and be better. But to get trapped in that, to fail to enjoy the day because we are “worried about tomorrow,” to quote Jesus (Matthew 6:34) is to miss out on the amazing blessings He has given us this moment. We can be like Martha in the Bible who was so busy planning the meal ahead that she failed to sit at the feet of Jesus and enjoy His face in the moment.
For some reason, this is the time of the year I begin to hum Carly’s (we are on a first name basis) song. It reminds me, that while I am looking forward to the next holiday and even to the new year beyond, I don’t want to overlook the stuff that is right at my fingertips, the clamor of the grandkids running down the hallway, the banter of my adult children playing table games in the dining room. The fact that sales driven culture puts up Christmas decorations on Halloween, completely ignoring Thanksgiving, or thanks giving for that matter, makes it even easier to anticipate to the point of neglecting.
So, here is a gentle reminder to stay in the moment, enjoy the day, and take in the experiences God is giving you this season. As Carly would say, “I’m no prophet and I don’t know nature’s way” but I’ve seen enough to know that it all passes way to fast. The kids grow. The distance increases. The circumstances change. And before we know it, the things we are trying to get through in order to move to the next thing, are the very things we wish we could experience again. We might look back one day and recognize, “these are the good old days.”
Four thoughts:
1. Just take it all in. Stop in the middle of the chaos, step back in a corner, and make yourself an observer. Snap a few mental pictures that you will recall and look at closely tonight. Listen to the bustling conversations. Smell the left over apple pie sitting on the stove. See your son with his head back, asleep in front of the football game. And say to yourself, “these are the good old days.”
2. Connect it to your whole self. Tell yourself what this feeling is, where it shows up in your body, what thoughts are running though your head. Be intentional about making a solid emotional, mental, and physical connection to this moment. Years from now your will be able to put yourself right back in this memory.
3. Make a verbal THANK YOU. Tell God, out loud, how grateful you are are for this experience. Don’t gripe about what should be better or remind Him of what you had hoped for. Just thank Him right now, right here, for this moment, just the way it is.
4. Finally, anticipate. We are moving, growing, becoming. God’s offer to us is ABUNDANT life. So I will fully enjoy this moment and fully expect others. He is so good and I have learned the more I stay in the moment and enjoy the present and His presence, the more he brings me to “ever increasing glory.”
Tomorrow, well, actually Sunday, I will give us some thoughts about moving ahead. I’ll suggest things like download a Bible reading app, I suggest the Daily Audio Bible; find a good journal that you can begin to write in; and create a good devotional spot to spend some time in next month. BUT FOR TODAY, “just stay right here ‘cause these are the good old days.” And I am so grateful to be in them.
Love you guys. And love you Carly.
And if you’d like, join us here Sunday for a 50 Day Spiritual Adventure.
