Last year, a tradition started with the class of 2017 that we call “Circle Time”. There haven’t been a lot of Circle Times (I really do teach, I promise!), but when the need arises, we put English or Drama on hold and have a chat about concerns either the students or I have.
A couple weeks ago, I felt God leading me to call a “Circle Time” with my seniors. I was seeing something that I have often seen in seniors – a tendency to be so focused on the future that they miss what is happening right now.
I thought I’d bring this particular Circle Time discussion here, because I am confident that my students aren’t the only ones dealing with this issue.
We can all get “future tense”. For the seniors, it’s the burning desire to move on to the next phase of life (I refuse to call it the “real world” because teens are living in the real world. You can read my blog rant on this if you’d like). And I
get it. They’re ready to have more freedom, to be a “college student” instead of a “high school kid”. They want to move that tassle and get on with what will surely be more exciting than the life they currently lead.
But, teens, as I told my seniors — this temptation to live in the future will always be there. When you finish high school, you’ll be tempted to look forward to finishing college, to getting married, to having kids, to getting a promotion, a new car, a nice vacation…It never ends! You could find yourself at the end of your life realizing you’ve spent far too much time fantasizing about the future instead of living in the present.
So acknowledge this temptation for what it is and battle it.
God has plans for you today. He has lessons to teach you, people He wants you to impact, good work He has prepared for you to complete. Don’t miss out on the joys that are before you today because you are dreaming about the joys that you hope will come in the future. Because, to be honest, the future never turns out the way we expect! Not that it’s worse – it’s often better than we imagined. But it’s always different. Faith means we trust God with everything – even the future – knowing His ways are better than ours.
