Cinderella

“Your voice is as beautiful as you are”

I was at a party and my sister and I had just finished playing some music around the bonfire. That was when this twenty year old guy came up to me and gave me this complement.

“Your voice is as beautiful as you are”

I have had guys do things for me before because they thought I was cute. Young waiters going out of their way to make sure my meal is as enjoyable as possible, the young guy collecting carts at Walmart going out of his way to come get mine so I don’t have to put it away myself, I’ve even had a guy at school ask for my number once, but never one so brave as to complement me as this one had. It intrigued me.

Once I got home I started trying to figure out who this guy was. I looked all over Facebook trying to see if I could find him. Not because I wanted to date him, not because I wanted to be friends with him even, simply because I wanted to know the identity of the guy who called me beautiful. I felt like Prince Charming searching for Cinderella. But this guy was certainly not my one true love. So what was I doing? That was when I came across this quote.

“Don’t spend any time this week chasing after a guy. A Godly man will pursue you when the time is right.”

I didn’t need to be Prince Charming; I was supposed to be Cinderella. I know we all have this problem, guys and girls alike. We’re all searching for our one true love when what we should be doing is living our lives as God wants, and then, when the time is right, that one true love will come. When the time is right I will know who I’m supposed to be with. When the time is right he will come to me and we will live happily ever after. I know this guy was probably just hitting on me because I was the only girl his age at the party. Or maybe he really did want to get to know me. I may never know. But either way, I will wait. I will go back to my life after the ball and my prince, whoever that may be, will come to me when the time is right; when God prepares him to do so. There is time to be patient. There is time to wait for your happily ever after. Because in this world, the magic doesn’t wear off at midnight.

Fall is Beautiful

As the air becomes crisp, the water is too cold to swim in, and the leaves begin to change, we begin to dread that winter is on its way and summer is over. But why must we think so far ahead? What is wrong with right now? Yes, summer is gone, winter is on its way, but fall is here now, and it is beautiful.

We often spend our time thinking about the past or the future, never the present. What we said in the past, what that person did, what our future will bring, but all too rarely what we are doing and who we are with right at this moment. I myself am guilty of this, I know. My future is a daily conversation recently. Either that or thinking about what I did in the past, regrets, or wishing I was younger. But that's when I know it's time to get a new perspective.

Yes, the past and the future are important. But so is right now. This exact second only happens once in your lifetime. If we spent all our time behind us or ahead of us then we would never see what’s here now. We need to enjoy the people we are currently with, not busy making plans with someone else. Stop spending our time worrying about what tomorrow will bring and just enjoy whatever today has to offer.

When I find myself stuck in the past or stuck in the future, I know it's time to step back and look at the big picture. That is when I climb a mountain and look at the sea of those red, orange, and yellow leaves that fall is so famous for. There is nothing like climbing to the top of a mountain in the fall to gain a new perspective on life. Seeing all that land, the lakes and trees and the big open sky. I realize that there is this huge, beautiful world we live in and we don’t have to see the whole thing at once. Enjoying just a little bit of it at a time is ok. And if we don’t stop and take the time to enjoy it while it’s here, as fall is a very short season where I live, then it will be gone and we would have missed it. A lot can be missed if our heads are stuck in the past or the future and not the present.

So, I challenge you to take a break from looking at the past and the future, but to look at the present moment for a while. Climb a mountain and admire God's creation as it is right now, today, this very moment. Because fall is here. And it is beautiful.