Appreciating the Now (09/03/2024)

This weekend, my oldest daughter was visiting, and she asked if I still had any of my old dishes, the Ironstone dishes. I admitted that I didn’t. She told me they were actually worth some money now. I remembered getting rid of them. I didn’t like them because they had corners that chipped. I realized then that I hadn’t appreciated what I had at the moment. Then I admitted out loud, “I need to get better at appreciating things in the now.”

That conversation has stuck with me for a couple of days. I have thought a great deal about the things of my past that I didn’t fully appreciate in the moment. Some of it was material like those Ironstone dishes, but most of it was not. A lot of my memories were of simple things like my energy at 25 compared to now or my natural ash blonde hair compared to my silver of today. But then there were the memories of others who are no longer with me. And I admit how very much I miss them and wish I had a little more time. How I wish I had appreciated them more fully in the moments we had.

This past weekend, I had a second experience that adds to this first. At church, I was standing next to a couple as we left church that I didn’t recognize. I asked if they were new to our parish. They smiled and told me that they were not and that they were Wyatt’s parents. I realized they were referring to a student I’d taught a few years back. Then they told me how much their son had actually enjoyed the class. And I was touched. I hadn’t realized it at the time. I was grateful to know that.

And I’ve been wondering lately, what else have I missed? What opportunities have been there that I didn’t seize? Who have I not appreciated as fully as I should have?

We often don’t realize what we have until we lose it or until it is gone. As we begin this new month, may we on the journey of faith, hope and love commit to being more present to the moment, to those who share it with us, to the LORD’s power and presence at work in us and around us. May we be more observant, may we be more grateful, may we be more present. While we are journeying into the future, may we recognize the gifts present to us now.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.