I was regretting the past
And fearing the future. . .
Suddenly my Lord was speaking:
“My Name Is I AM.” He paused.
I waited. He continued.
“When You Live In The Past,
With Its Mistakes And Regrets,
It Is Hard. I Am Not There.
My Name Is Not I WAS.
When You Live In The Future,
With Its Problems And Fears,
It Is Hard. I Am Not There.
My Name Is Not I WILL BE.
When You Live In This Moment,
It Is Not Hard.
I Am Here.
My Name Is I AM.”
~Helen Mallicoat
/~/
Living in the moment. Present during the present. Being where your feet are. All there. Not looking back or forward, but just. . . around, I guess; focusing on what’s going on right then.
Let me point out that it is good to look back and remember–remember where you’ve come from, what God’s done for you, etc.–but, as the poem says, don’t “live in the past with its mistakes and regrets.” It’s also good to look forward, making plans, giving yourself motivation to keep going/growing, reminding yourself where you’re headed, etc. But don’t start worrying about the future; don’t rely on still being able to do the things you dreamed of, or even on making it to the future.
Live in the moment. Live each second “to the hilt,” being fully present and engaged and attentive. Be where your feet are, not twenty years down the road.
God is in the present. Right here, right now. No matter what you’re going through, no matter what the current situation is.
His name is I AM.
