We Don't Have to Have it All.

You guys, I'm going to be honest with you.

I am that person.

The one who is constantly in the habit of thinking that my life will magically start as soon as ______ happens. As soon as I graduate from college, as soon as I find a great guy and talk him into marrying me, and then as soon as I graduate from my master's program...that's when things will take off.

The cycle for me is never ending. Currently: it's waiting until we buy a house and start having kids. I'm certain once those things happen, my life is really going to be launched and my daily life will feel normal. 

Truthfully, this is my own personal bondage [we all have them]. It's living in this dissonance that I stifle my current opportunities, fail to live in the present, and allow myself to be distracted from my calling. 

When I fixate and worry on what comes next, I completely miss the opportunities the Lord has set in place right NOW. If I become too future-oriented, time and time again I find that I have forgotten that there are incredible things happening in my life that I need to be intentional to take advantage of.

I can't help but think of Philippians 4:6 which says:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

[Special shoutout to my mom for printing this verse out and forcing me to tape it to my wall during college]

It's not that I can't want the things that the future potentially brings. I can want them. I can ask God for them and present them to Him; what I can't do, however, is wait to start my life for those things to happen. I don't have to have it all, and I need to be okay with that.

I can't waste my present hoping for the future. 

So here's my vow:

To be intentional today, in this moment, exactly where the Lord has called me to be.

To pray for the future, but not fixate on it. 

To be excited for what's to come, but not forget where I am.

To not allow seasons of discontentment to lead to restlessness. 

In Jesus' name.

Can you keep me accountable? 

xxoo,

Aly