I Know Who Holds My Future

This season that we are in has been challenging for my family in many ways. There are many close people in my life that are also going through challenging seasons. Overwhelming, unsettling and things that are out of our control. This is hard. We truly only have today. Our future, we know, is in God’s hands. My son printed this quote from Tim Tebow out this week and I just took a deep breathe, because this reminder brought me some peace during this time, as so many of us are truly feeling that our life and our future is not in our hands.

–I don’t know what my future holds, but I know who holds my future.

We have today. We have to make the most of this day. Live in this day. Do our best for this day. We can not worry about the future… and we have to let go of the past.

This made me think even more about my time and my energy. I love to encourage others and to be encouraged. These days I have less. I am tired. My pep talks are few. Even though I know this season is an exceptionally challenging one, I know God is always teaching me something. He is always wanting me to be better and be stronger. Now even more I need to truly use my time and energy wisely. Not waste any. It is so valuable. We only have so much. Where am I still being wasteful with my time?

Social media was my first thought. I have always struggled with social media. There are parts of it I do like. I like to spread encouragement, and obviously I can reach more people. There are others that I find encouragement from. For me, it is like another world. There is one we live in and one we all watch and play in on the screen. This is the way of the world. For what I believe, I struggle with most of it. I long for real and authentic, I don’t believe this is what we always see. It brings out so much of what brings people down. Comparison. Judgement. Exclusion. Division and more. I have created boundaries for myself with Facebook over this last year, but have still been unsettled. This past week I woke up one morning and decided I was taking a break for the day. One day led into a week and I really didn’t miss it. I needed to prove to myself that I didn’t need to give it my time every day. I didn’t even check my notifications.

I am taking another week off and using my time with my family and myself. Yes, I do believe that social media is where a lot of us live. Yes, there is a part of me that knows this world has changed. My reality has changed. There is no going back. This is when I take some time to remind myself what is important to me and my values. Yes, this can be a lonely struggle sometimes, but the only true way for me to live.

I have had conversations about social media with many over the years. Many people are left unsettled. If you are feeling this now, please…do not let social media define who you are. Do not let it make you feel less than. Do not compare what you have, or what you do, to what others post. Do not spend your time watching others lives, spend this valuable time in your own life. There is always beauty there. Love who you are and live YOUR life. We all have faults. We all struggle in many ways. Every single day I struggle….with parenting, marriage and myself. Life is hard. I pray for broader shoulders for myself. I pray that I can help others. I pray that I can be better today than I was yesterday.

I will be back to Facebook, mainly because I truly love to spread encouragement. When I spread encouragement for others, it is just as much for me. It fills me up as well. Sometimes for your dreams, you have to do some things that are uncomfortable. Social media is one of those things for me. I will have boundaries and I plan to stick with them. I will spread encouragement, find encouragement and I will not scroll again. So, if you have a life event that you would like me to know about, you will have to reach out and tell me. Don’t use your time asking me if I saw it on Facebook. Just tell me.

My life is full right now of things that are out of my control. There is also much that is in my control. Regardless of what is out of my control, I am still raising my babies, homeschooling, following my own dreams and wanting to live each day to its absolute fullest. I find gratitude every day. I believe we can always find things to be grateful for. We can always find beauty if we take the time to look. We can see God’s beauty when we take a moment to look. We can feel less stressed if we pause for a moment and just breathe.

Yes, life is busy. We do have a bit of control over our busy. What matters to you? Are you spending your time and energy on that? Is your day about pleasing and proving to others, or pleasing and proving to God? Are you thinking about what others think of you….or are you thinking about what God thinks of you?

God is always teaching and challenging us. What are you doing with it? Are you looking at what you struggle with and trying to improve.

Don’t let life take you where you don’t want to go. Our future is not in our hands, but this day is. It is up to you to take a hold of it and spend your time on what matters to you.

Where will your time and energy go today? Because, you will not see this day again.

So, please take in the moments and enjoy today!