Column: A fine balance

So I'm doing a horrible job at posting these in a timely manner. Please forgive me! Here's Friday's column, one I think you might relate to (and if you don't, I apologize for misleading you). Read it, enjoy it (that's my hope) and pass it along. Have a wonderful week, folks!

original publication date: Friday, October 24, 2014 
Random Writer
A fine balance 

From the moment I wake up, unfortunately, my mind is determining what is in store for the day. I make a mental note of whether there is something out of the daily routine that will be added to my day, or I remind myself of something that is part of the mundane but means a little more to me during the upcoming hours.

Admittedly, if I know that a lot of my time will be spent in the public eye, I base my daily wardrobe on that concept. If not, well...I look presentable but honestly, I could make more of an effort.

And when I arrive at work, my mind is already thinking about tomorrow. Yes, different tasks are done immediately but most of what I do here at the newspaper is in preparation for the next day--the upcoming edition.

It can be almost 11 a.m., and already I'm thinking ahead to lunch. What will I eat? Is there even anything at the house to eat? How long do I have to make something before my lunch hour is over and I have to head back to work?

Once I get back to work, I'm trying to remember what's ready for the next day or what still needs to be finished. And yes, I might have just eaten but I'm already figuring out what's for supper.

I've arrived at home. The whole dinner thing may or may not have been resolved, but depending on what day is it tells me what my TV lineup will be. On Mondays, it's Gotham and Sleepy Hollow, Tuesday it's "Shield". I don't have a chance to watch TV on Wednesdays because it's church (which, during that day, I'm figuring out what may be in store with our teens and who might show up, etc.), and after that, there's nothing else on the rest of the week that piques my interest, so Netflix it is.

But before I go to bed, there are other things that have to be done for the  next day, like getting the coffee pot ready or washing dishes (because I was raised to never leave dishes in the sink overnight). And even as I mind-numbingly swipe away my social media sites, I'm already thinking about what's in store for tomorrow.

And that hamster wheel never ends.

Does anyone else ever feel this way?

Now the writer in me pulls out two lessons from this. First, when did I (we) stop living in the moment? For me, I'd venture to guess it was probably after I left college, because there would be random Friday nights where my friends and I would sit in the TV room, wondering what to do, and then instantly deciding to head to the downtown coffee shops and away we went. When you're young and with a group of friends, it's easy to either give into peer pressure (I sadly sometimes fall into this category) or decide to be whimsical. We're not guaranteed tomorrow, and as so many people have said it's better to live in the moment and not have any regrets. There are so many things we can and should be doing, but if we're so focused on the next step instead of what's right in front of us, then we miss out.

Here's the other thing I see. Looking forward. Yes, for someone like me I love to know what's in store. I need (or want, either way) to know what my day planner looks like, because sometimes those plans dictate what I need to wear or how I need to manage my time or finances or both.

And as I started thinking about this from a spiritual perspective, both concepts make good points. Living in the moment means we're walking through this life conscientious of what God wants for us, to be in His will. But looking ahead means that we anticipate His coming, and with everything that's going on, we who are blood-bought Christ-followers know that His return is imminent.

But we can't be so heavenly-minded that we're of no earthly good. And we can't be so wrapped up in our earthly lifestyle that we as Christ-followers fail in our preparation of spending eternity with Him. There's a fine balance that I struggle each day and moment to figure out, but when we purposely decide to follow Him, He will show us so that our lives will ultimately glorify Him.