We often miss the beauty of everyday life. We get so caught up in the next thing, we barely see the beautiful thing right in front of us. What if we stopped and savored the moment, soaking it in and allowing it to change how we see things? I was reading a devotional one morning, a little book some of you may know called ‘My Utmost for His Highest’ by Oswald Chambers. The devotional for the day, and this is definitely a Mo paraphrase,  talked about how we were not made for the mountain top moments. These moments are to inspire us, give us the energy to persevere when we are in the ordinary days or the hard seasons. The devotional went on to mention how we were made for were the ordinary everyday dreary moments of life. This got me thinking about how many moments pass us by and we don’t even notice the beauty and loveliness they bring. We get so caught up in the urgent, we don’t slow down and savor the necessary. It will be those necessary  moments, not always mountain top experiences, but the beautiful necessary moments will be the ones to carry us through the valleys of life. The valleys are where we grow the most. Growth does not come easy, and if you are stubborn like I am, you often fight it until you have no energy left. If not for the seasons of plenty, the savoring of the moments where I knew God was at work in my life, where I felt His undeniable presence, I would never make it through the valleys. As I have grown in my walk with Christ, as I have born fruit, and learned to surrender, I am more aware of those moments.

So I challenge you, evaluate where you are in accordance with the commands of our Savior. Do you know Jesus? Do you have a personal relationship? Is your life bearing fruit? If so, keep pressing into Him. If not, identify and remove any obstacles getting in the way of your surrender and obedience to His word. Connect with mature Christians and allow them to pour into you, to prepare you to one day pour into others. Today is a new day, a new beginning, savor the moments, treasure this season, and if you are in a valley, look back at the moments before, where God was at work showing you His love, and give thanks to Him who is faithful.

I leave you with this:

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. – Philippians 4:8