“I can’t wait until I…” was a mantra from my past. There were numerous markers on the path to ordained ministry. Barely would I complete one, before I was anticipating the next. Whether it was completing a phase of education, or passing another interview with the Board of Ordained ministry! I could not wait to get passed the next step.

Thankfully, another pastor who served on the Board, encouraged me to look at what I was doing. In my efforts to get through the next checkpoint on my way to my goal, I was missing much of the blessing that came with the journey. It was, and is, important to have goals and pursue them, but not at the expense of living in the moment with God.

Along my journey, one of the voices that has helped me find my balance is that of Henri Nouwen. In his book, Bread for the Journey, he reflects on what it means to cultivate the virtue of patience, “Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest, to be completely present to the moment, to taste the here and now to be who we are.”

There is great truth in his words, and wisdom for leading our lives from reflecting in them. The real value of patience is not in the waiting, but in being fully alive and alert in the present. This way, we do not miss the treasures of God waiting where we already are.

In Psalm 34:8, the psalmist declares we should, “Taste and see that The Lord is good.” It is a call to savor the richness of God in the place he has us now. There is no place we can go, no situation we can be in, where the greatness of God’s presence is not there to enrich our lives. To hurry past the moment we are in, to get to something that lies ahead, robs us of the blessing God intends for us to experience where we are.

As we press on to embrace the opportunities and goals that await us in 2014, we must also plan to feast on the marrow of each day, each moment God gives us on the way. If we learn to experience the fullness of each moment with God, we will be training ourselves to capture all of possibility that is yet to come as we fulfill our God-given destiny.

I invite you to pray with me,

“Creator God, you planned this day before you knit me together in my mother’s womb. You chose me before the creation of the world to be adopted in your family. Help me to discover all that you have for me, today. Let me see all of the hidden treasures along my path, and more importantly, be aware of your presence with me along the way. I choose to be fully alive, and alert to the leading of your Spirit, so that I can savor every moment of this day with you. Amen.”