Have you ever just wanted to finish something?

You started a book and your goal was to finish it by the end of the month so you just rush through it.

You eat your meal as fast as you can so that you can move on to the next thing on your todo list.

Or maybe you’re in college and you just want to get all the work done so that you can graduate.

And then just get the “dream job.”

The dream spouse, move into the dreamy neighbor hood and have some beautiful children.

I could go on and on. Our goals are to attain these worldly things. Things that we believe will make us happy. But in reality, you don’t just get the job, you have to work hard at it every single day. You don’t just have kids, you raise them into being functioning parts of society.

One day you will retire. Your kids will move out of your house. And all you’ll have are the memories that you made throughout your life.

But did you enjoy it?

I know, I know I’m just a twenty five year old gal who hasn’t really even started a career yet, but hear me out.

Most of my life I’ve been living on autopilot. Going with the flow. Rolling with the punches of life. And it served me well for a certain amount of time, but looking back it seems like life has just happened to me and I didn’t really taken agency in any of it.

Okay, any of it is dramatic, but you get the point: I was just along for the ride.

I just wanted to finish the book the teacher told me to read and I didn’t soak up the words. I wanted to get an A in the class but didn’t really care to retain the information.

I didn’t know how to soak up the goodness of the life that was passing by me. I wasn’t able to look around me because I was just looking forward. My goal was to be done. To be “skinny,” “smart,” “accepted.” But while I was so concerned about all of these things, I was really missing the life all around me.

I always used to believe there was a there that I was trying to get to.

But as each year passes, I’ve realized no one is really there.

This there we dream of is heaven. It’s not the boy next door, the perfect job, family or life. I believe we get glimpses of heaven with parts of these there’s but then we’re on to worrying about the next thing.

One of my goals in life now is not just to get there but to enjoy the moments and the hard work it takes to get there.

So, enjoy the book: don’t rush through it. Taste your food. Be present with the people around you. Pay attention to the small things.

God gave us this beautiful life to enjoy, not to rush through.

He wants us to glorify Him in everything we do, not just half-ass it so it’s done.

Don’t just finish today, live it.