Stop Waiting For The Perfect Moment To Start Living

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I’ll start running when the weather is nicer. I’ll start spending time with God this summer when I’m not overwhelmed by school. I’ll start eating healthy tomorrow, but I need cookies tonight… and tomorrow… and the next day. I’ll talk to that girl when I’m not running late to a meeting. I’ll invite people over for dinner when I am finally able to catch a breath. I’ll start volunteering when I have more free time.

Sound familiar? Oh, how uncomfortable I am by the number of time I have used these very excuses. But you see, the weather gets nicer, and I’m still not running. Summer comes, and busy schedules/summer trips seem more important than spending time with my Creator. Tomorrow comes, and my sugar craving is even more intense than the day before. I don’t have a meeting, and I still pass that girl who looks lonely without saying a word. I catch a breath and use it to make excuses for my lack of hospitality. I have free time, and I spend it staring glazed-eyed at a scrolling-Facebook screen with Netflix as white-noise in the background.

I am writing this post because I need to hear it. I’m writing it because I think I will continue to make excuses if I don’t. You see, I have a habit of saying that I will start living when I am less busy, less tired, more motivated. But once those moments come, I choose to replace them with something else–and the cycle repeats.

I’m starting to realize that if we don’t start now, we probably never will. We waste our time with meaningless fillers as we wait for the opportune moment to pursue what we want.

What is it that you want to accomplish? Maybe you want to get in shape, spend more time with God, get to know your neighbors, pursue a different job, start a blog… Whatever it is–and believe me, I’m speaking to myself more than anyone else–why don’t you start today instead of waiting for the perfect moment? Because if you are really honest with yourself, the perfect moment will never come. Life is busy, distracting, complicated–with limitless commitments and to-do lists that threaten to steal our time and attention.

You probably won’t be able to accomplish it all at once, but you’ve got to start somewhere. Besides, it’s much less intimidating to start small. Go for a short jog. Wake up ten minutes earlier to just talk with God about your concerns, joys, fears. Make a smoothie instead of reaching for another cookie. Be brave and ask that girl how her day is going, and take the time to really listen to her. Invite a few friends over for games if cooking sounds too overwhelming. Take an hour out of your week to volunteer at a local non-profit.

Start with something small, and start today–or you probably never will.