My girlfiend, Carrie, and I went out to Peppermint Thai to celebrate her birthday. We treasure each others company and Peppermint Thai is our favorite restaurant, and there just happens to be an ice cream parlor about 4 doors away. We both try to eat healthy and watch our weight but when it comes to birthdays, we say, "carpe diem!"
So after lunch I asked Carrie, “Do you want some ice cream for birthday dessert?” We knew neither of us needed or really wanted it but I said, “Life is so short, we could be gone tomorrow, so let’s enjoy an ice cream together, today.” We got to spend another hour talking, laughing and making fond memories.
The next day my girlfriend Diana and I got together to celebrate her birthday. I have a lot of friends and family with birthdays in February, (thank God most of them live out of town or I’d be as big as a house by March). We ended up going to Culver's they serve delicious hamburgers, chicken, fish sandwiches and again ice cream. We had a tasty lunch, lots of laughs and a free ice cream sundae. You can't pass up free!
Celebrating each other on our birthdays is something we are intentional about doing. We also try to spend time together each month, to encourage, uplift each other, pray for each other and to laugh a lot, and FYI not every gathering includes food. I am excited and thankful that I can enjoy each day of my life, my family and my friends and live each day as if it were my last.
However, about 8 months ago, I iwas informed that I should stock up on food, withdraw cash from the banks, invest in crypto and buy gold and silver. So, I bought and hoarded extra food and supplies to store away in case of disaster, tried to save money and only bought food I needed nothing frivolous, didn’t go out for dinner and was very cautious about every penny I spent. I realized all of these thoughts only caused me to experience anxiety, depression and isolation. I was investing so much energy and thought on, the 'what was to come,' that I wasn’t living joyfully in "the here and now."
Instead of trying to make my own preparations for the future, I turned to God and surrendered my present and future life into His loving hands. God is the only One who can bring me true peace for all situations and in all times. He is the ultimate provider. I had to be reminded, that my God will be in my future and He owns all the cattle on a thousand hills. Psalm 50:10-12
And all the gold and silver is the Lord’s Haggai 2:8 and we are valuable and precious to God. He will meet our financial needs, physical needs and any other need that we may ever have, no matter what is happening in the world. He is not only in our past, but in our present and in the times to come.
I am so free now as I rest in God and trust Him. I am free to celebrate my friends, free to enjoy life without fear of financial ruin, free to be still in His calm assurance and confident that in any trial I experience, He will be with me. So I live each day to it’s fullest. I seize the day and try to make the most out of the time God gives me.
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