In the Great Big Scheme of Things.....

Do you know what happens when you think too much about the future?
Huh? Do ya?
You stop living in the present. That's what.

This past week has been a great big massive pain for my husband and I and it was all caused by my unshakable habit of trying to work out my future before I get there. It's a terrible way of thinking that I have had since I was much younger. I'm not talking about the healthy habit of setting goals and having ambitions. No. I am talking about obsessing over "what ifs.....".

What if this were to happen? What would I do?

Having a backup plan isn't such a bad thing. But when one gets a little too preoccupied with that backup plan.................well. Thinking too much about the future has a way of totally screwing up the present. We are only meant to live one day at a time. And who is to say how we will handle any given situation if it were presented to us?

Ever since I was young, I always thought that "planning ahead" was a wise idea. I would automatically start thinking about how I would handle the break-up as soon as I started dating someone new. I would consider my alternate route in the case of losing a job. I would imagine every possible way that a friendship may fall apart, and then map out my defense for getting through the pain. It's downright obsessive.

But what good does it do?

In the great big scheme of things, does obsessing over the future ever really help when something bad happens? I don't think so.
Breaking up will still hurt. Changing jobs will always be stressful. Losing friends will break your heart.

I always thought that I was saving myself pain by being prepared for it. But I was wrong. All I was ever doing was neglecting my present situations and placing unneeded stress on them. It took a really hard blow for me to see this. But my eyes are wide open now. I may never be able to completely let go of my habit. But from now on I would like to think that God will give me the strength and wisdom to do what needs to be done, no matter what kind of bridge I have to cross. But I'll worry about that bridge when I get there, and no sooner.



* pic from here.