Don’t press fast forward.

Photo cred: Zach Sumners

After passing many milestones in my life, the two most recent ones captured in the picture above – my 20^th birthday and more importantly, Rachel's graduation from high school, all in one crazy, blessed day – I have more than ever realized this important lesson: Don’t press the fast forward button on life.

Time goes by fast, we all know it. But this still doesn’t stop us from thinking and planning ahead, and wishing we were just a little bit older or even at the next stage of our lives.

The current stage we are in….whether that is studying in school, just out of school with our first “real” job, traveling the world, getting married, having our first child, working to advance our career, married and consumed with the lives of our children, empty nesters, retirement, or any other life stage that is a combination of these, in transition, or one I have not mentioned…always seems to be the “hardest stage.” We look to what is to come and think once we pass this current stage we are in, things will get just a little bit easier. But the truth is, the next stage doesn’t get easier, because every stage in our life comes with new challenges and hardships. Maybe we all know this truth, but this still doesn’t stop us from wanting to click the fast forward to the next stage of our lives.

Maybe we have also done the opposite, and wished we could go backwards in time and just be a child again. I know this has been my wish on many occasions. For others, it may be thinking back to our college years, or our first job, or when we were just younger and felt more adventurous and free.

With these two extremes, we can see that all of us quite often wish we were somewhere different in life due to knowing how it used to be, current circumstances being as they are, and predicting what the future holds.

Ecclesiastes 3 expresses that there is a time for everything….There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. It is God who appoints a time for everything, and His timing is perfect. He arranges even the smallest details of our earthly surroundings, and because He cares about each and every one of us, He has destined and determined the activities and stages of our lives.

With this in mind, let us enjoy where we are at in our current life stage, even if it is hard. Let’s hold on tight and do the best we can, because it won’t be like this for long. Soon you will be moving onto the next adventure of life God has already planned for you. Most importantly, time goes by fast, and you don’t want to miss what God has in store for you at the present moment. Don’t press the fast forward button on life.