I am posting one of my favorite poems today by: Robert J. Hastings. I read this poem several years ago. I often think about it. So many times I find myself forgetting to live and enjoy the "present." So often times I live in the future. I heard someone say recently that it is easy to "Trust God with our Future, but not so easy to Trust Him with our Present circumstances etc." For me this is so true.
I want God to find me trusting in Him, second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. That is how I want to really live! God cares about what causes me concern today!
When I was a young Mom of two boys with lots of energy I thought those days were going to last forever. Guess what? They didn't. Now my sons' are 18 and 20. If you are a young Mom I encourage you to enjoy your little ones. Talk with them about Jesus in the morning, at lunch time, in the car, while waiting in line etc. Play with them on the floor. Tickle them and giggle! I know you have a million things to do but those dishes in the sink and the laundry will still be there after you grab those little daily moments.
If you find yourself driving your kids from point A to point B and back again. Seize those opportunities while you have them captive in the car. It is interesting how topics of conversation come up so much easier in the car. Encourage them, tell them you are excited about what God is accomplishing in their life etc. As they step out of the car tell them you love them and are praying for them.
Before you know it your kids will be young adults. I am finding that I am actually drawn to pray for my sons' more than ever before. Praying for God to guide them with His leading, protection and wisdom in the daily choices they find themselves in. Somehow a part of my "Station Mentality" I thought my mother role would kind of end when they reached young adult-hood. It does change a lot that's for sure. But now I am realizing my role as a mom just shifts to praying more and trying to speak less.
If for some reason you have kind of been waiting for the station, I pray that the poem below will give you an excitement for living today.
The True Joy of Life is the Trip
THE STATION By Robert J. Hastings TUCKED AWAY in our subconscious minds is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long, long trip that almost spans the continent. We're traveling by passenger train, and out the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls, of biting winter and blazing summer and cavorting spring and docile fall. But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour we will pull into the station. There will be bands playing and flags waving. And once we get there so many wonderful dreams will come true. So many wishes will be fulfilled and so many pieces of our lives finally will be neatly fitted together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, damming the minutes for loitering, waiting, waiting, waiting for the station. However, sooner or later we must realize there is no one station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us. When we get to the station that will be it!" we cry. Translated it means, "When I'm 18 that will be it! When I buy a new 450 SL Mercedes Benz, that will be it! When I put the last kid through college that will be it! When I have paid off the mortgage that will be it! When I win a promotion that will be it! When I reach the age of retirement that will be it! I shall live happily ever after!" Unfortunately, once we get "it," then "it" disappears. The station somehow hides itself at the end of an endless track. "Relish the moment" is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118:24: "This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it." It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad. Rather, it is regret over yesterday or fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who would rob us of today. So, stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more and cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough. (This version of "The Station" made its first debut in Ann Landers' Column on May 17, 1981.) "Dear Ann Landers: I wrote a little essay that appeared in theIllinois Baptist and I am sending it to you with permission to share it with your readers if you wish." Robert J. Hastings, Editor. "Dear Robert Hastings: It's a beauty. Thank you for sending it on." Ann Landers.
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