This morning I went over to Pecan Grove to pick up some more pecans. I've been twice this fall with great results both times. Today, however, was different. The nuts have already begun to go bad. For every good one I found, there were probably four or five that were already split open or mildewed. Realizing that I had waited too long to go back started a stream of thoughts.
The end of this year's pecan crop is a signal that fall is winding down and winter is only a couple of weeks away. Of course, here in central Texas winter doesn't change things too much. It does not get extremely cold and things are not covered in a blanket of snow and ice (at least not very often.) However, winter is a reminder that everything is constantly changing and there is nothing any of us can do to slow or stop the march of time.
Thinking about the changing seasons and the march of time, I began to ponder the future in two ways. First, I wondered what changes the coming year would bring. In my family right now, there are multiple health concerns as well as financial concerns. Further, the larger socio-political issues of our day weigh heavily on my psyche. Basically, I was falling to the temptation of anticipating the future with worry.
On the other hand, I was excited about next year's pecan crop. I realized that had I invested a little more time and not procrastinated I could have harvested a bumper stash of the little treasures, and I was gleeful about the thought of picking up pounds and pounds of pecans next fall. This reveals another danger in a hyper-focus on the future. Namely, we can be so mindful of something yet to come that we fail to experience and enjoy the present. My parents used to tell me, "don't wish your life away." We can be so intent on wishing for the next thing which excites us that we overlook the present joys.
In a few minutes of time, I was guilty of two flawed ways of facing the future. The Bible offers us a more balanced approach to dealing with things to come. First, we should not worry about the future because God is in control. Jesus teaches about this in Matthew 6. Verses 25-26 say, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" He continues the discussion for several verses, but the idea is apparent. Worrying about things does not help anything. Better to trust God, seek Him, and live life one day at a time.
Second, while we should not worry about the future, we also should not ignore it. We need to anticipate the future enough to make reasonable plans. Further, the plans we make should be guided by our best understanding of God's leadership in our lives. James 4:13-15 says, "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'"
Time marches on indeed. As Christians we should plan reasonably for the future, but we should not worry about it or focus so intently on it that we miss the good things God has for us today. We should use our time wisely to build His kingdom, finding the joy He offers in each moment.
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