carpe diem

I have had this blog post on my list of things to do for nearly a week, and I just kept failing to actually do it. So, carpe diem! Seize the day! This may be part of the reason I have not made this blog post earlier. The last week has been busy, but not a bad kind of busy. And, it is all part of what I am realizing more and more each day.
Carpe diem! Seize the day!
For some time now God has been impressing upon me the importance of living where I am and enjoying the moment. Wherever I am, be all there. That is what I want to do. I want to enjoy life, every moment of it. I do not want to dwell on the past. I do not want to be anxious for the future. I want to get all that I can out of where I am right now. Where I am right now is good, very good. There are difficulties. There are uncertainties. There are yet-to-be-fulfilled dreams. There are unspeakable joys. There are life lessons in abundance.
So, as part of my endeavor to seize the day, every day, I am seeking to do and to experience things that another season of life may not afford me to do. I am determined to read more. I have scads of books that I want to read. I love reading and learning and experiencing. I am also studying (as an official student) again, and I am loving it! Granted, I have only started classes a couple weeks ago, but it is such a privilege to be a student, and I want to maintain that attitude. I want to expand my "culinary" skills. I love cooking and baking, and I am challenging myself to try new things and enjoy the process. I want to be better about investing quality time in my relationships with friends and family. They are worth it. I want to slow down and enjoy what is before me. I don't want to be in a hurry to get through life. I want to enjoy this time with the Lover of my soul. I want to earnestly seek Him every day.
I am aware that at this point in my life I have the time to do many of these things, but I may not have this time in the future. Someday I may not be able to sit down on a Saturday afternoon and read classic literature. Someday I may not have the opportunity to spontaneously go out for coffee with a friend. Someday I will not have the hours to invest in studying theories or watching documentaries. Someday I will be thankful that making my own pita bread is "no sweat." Someday I want to look back and know that I truly lived every moment of this season, learning well, loving well.

"What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God." Ecclesiastes 3: 9-13