Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Just passing through

I recently returned from an amazing mission trip to Alaska with 28 other youth and adults. I don't recall ever having seen so much beauty in creation. We flew into Anchorage, drove to Fairbanks, and boared a boat in Seward... at any given moment there were incredible sights to see.

However, I noticed that much of our group slept through or found some other way of entertaining themselves as we passed by scenic view after scenic view. Now I don't fault them too much because we were all tired, and riding in cars and planes gets old pretty fast, but I wonder what this says about the way we live our lives.

How often do I "just get through" certain parts of life? I feel like if that is ever the case, then it is far too often. Each daily experience holds some beauty in it...and when I just try to get through to the next day, I'm missing out on what the day has to offer. Perhaps approaching every day with renewed enthusiasm about that specific day is truly what it means to "Carpe diem," or 'sieze the day.'

On the flight home I found myself watching a movie shortly after takeoff. Being in a window seat, I wanted to be sure to watch the sunset (something we hadn't seen during our stay because it doesn't get dark in Alaska during this time of year), so when I noticed the light becoming an orange tint, I pulled up the window shade and stared in awe as the sun set over the clouds and snow covered mountains. During most of our red-eye flight, I watched the window as dusk gave way to darkness and stars appeared...and shortly before we landed I was treated to sunrise over a Texas sky.

Are you in one of those "in between" stages in life? Are you just trying to "get through" today so that you can reach your destination/goal? Instead of waiting it out, what if you tried to glean something from your time of waiting? Look up and open your eyes, maybe with a little effort you can discover something awesome about today.

"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the sixth day." Genesis 1: 31 (NIV)

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