Here and now [2 Cor. 4:18]

The beauty of ‘here and now‘ does not mean that ‘here and now’ have to be beautiful but what comes of these moments can be just that. The simplicity and beauty you can find in where you are at in that very moment defines the next steps. You can make your next steps a delicate tiptoe towards beauty, or you can choose to crunch your toes inwardly and mediate on the here and now for another day or longer. You may even be dancing in the here and now, placing each foot on a garden of roses. The beauty of ‘here and now’ is that you can rejoice in it, learn, and ultimately it does not have to last forever. 2 Corinthians 4:18 “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” What we deal with in the ‘here and now’ is temporary. We are not promised tomorrow but as we get another day it is important to truly seek what is unseen. This tasks some days feels, not nearly impossible, but very impossible. Yes, I believe in God and I have a firm grasp on the Gospel but seeking the unseen here on Earth is easier said than accomplished. In my ‘here and now’ I am swallowed by distractions, human feelings and reactions, and my own sins. Getting past myself in my ‘here and now’ to focus on God shouldn’t be difficult but it can be. He wants to work with us where we are, and where we are is temporary. Depending on your circumstance we need to realize we are never stuck in the now, and He also allows us to rejoice in the now when times are good. There is beauty in each because God is in both circumstances. Seeking the unseen in our ‘here and now’ will allow us to see beauty in every day life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” And another, from Colossians 2:6-7, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him, and establish in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” I will end with this- Your ‘here and now’ may not seem beautiful to you, but God can use this time to teach you, change you, show you his delight in you, show you joy in following him, and open your heart to following Him to make those ‘here and now’s’ about the unseen in your life. Enjoy the tiptoes or leaps ahead of you, but use the ‘here and now’ and find the beauty, because it is here.