The Present Moment

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" This is a question that is asked to all young people, from the smallest of children to college seniors. There are many people within older generations that are still wondering what they will become when they finally "grow up."

We all make plans for our lives, whether they are very definitive plans or simply loose ideas of what we wish to accomplish in the future. While it is perfectly fine to set goals and achieve them, as this allows for personal growth, I want to take a moment to write my reflections regarding an aspect of each of our lives that tends to be overlooked: the present moment in time.

Approximately two and a half years ago, I almost lost my life in a serious car accident. It was a perfectly normal summer Saturday, and I can remember the heat and humidity that is common to the Shenandoah Valley being in the air that day. I did not have big plans for the day, other than the fact that I had planned to visit family in the evening. The accident happened within a split second, and I did not recall anything until I woke up in the hospital early the next morning.

As I began the long road to recovery from the accident, several thoughts crossed my mind. Was I too focused on what I wanted to accomplish in the future that I had forsaken the present? I had made big plans to serve Christ when I committed my life to Him. I knew of several things that I could do to show others the love and compassion of Jesus Christ.

Life is short. In James 4:14 (NIV), we read, "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." Things can happen in a split second that will dramatically change the direction of our earthly lives. We need to set goals to achieve in the future, but we also need to be acutely aware of the present and allow Christ to live within our hearts, so that we can best serve Him during our time on earth.

Let Christ live in your heart and guide your daily decisions. Only through Christ can we truly live in the present and not become trapped in the past or afraid of the future. We are only given a short time on earth, and therefore we need to make the most of our time. Christ's love gives each of us strength, which allows us to show others His love everyday. There is no time to wait until tomorrow. We need to change the question from "What do I want to be when I grow up?" to "What kind of person does Christ want me to be right now?" Only then can we truly live, and only then can we best serve Christ.

Jeremy Spitzer is in his third year as a HELM Leadership Fellow and is a member of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Winchester, Virginia.