Today’s Daily Post prompt sent my mind whirling with possibilities:
“For a moment today, time stands still — but you can tweak one thing while it’s stopped. What do you do?”
At first this seemed a golden opportunity – the ability to pinpoint a moment in my life and transform it, perhaps from mundane to good, from good to wonderful, from wonderful to perfect. The possibility beguiled me instantly. I could choose exact words when responding to an important question. I could take back a misguided eye roll. I could take a beautiful moment, say a sunset or a heartfelt “I love you,” and pack a little more oomph into the experience by adding inspirational music or a hand plucked flower to the equation.
It sounds great, doesn’t it? I soon realized, however, how difficult it would be to orchestrate a moment like that. How much manipulation would it take to get that moment just right? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, after all – I want to make the most of it!
I once cooked a celebratory meal for someone special. I followed a favorite recipe of mine, one that I have made many times to rave reviews. But I decided to make one small change to the meal in my desire to improve it, to make it extra special. Just a bit more spice to awaken the senses, I thought to myself – and before I knew what I had done, the dish was ruined. Most of us have episodes like this, a time we can all pinpoint with the words “I should stopped right there and left things as they were.”
With that in mind, my response to the question above – What Will I Do? – has to be this:
Nothing.
I’ll take my chances on each day as it unfolds. I may not get to plan everything my way, or tweak a moment to perfection, but I have to trust that God will. I have been blessed with perfect moments in my life, but not a single one of them has come about because I did anything to make them so.
I have laughed until I cried at a friend’s offhand comment. I have received hugs just when I felt my most unlovable. There were moments when I chanced to glance at the sky and glimpsed a perfect rainbow, or paused to tie my shoe and spied a delicate flower nestled in the grass at my feet. Occasions when, seemingly by chance, my eyes have met my husband’s across a crowded room just when I needed his reassuring smile.
I can’t improve on those moments. The spontaneity, the organic expression of love, the unexpected glimpse into the wonder of creation – I can’t make them happen. They are gifts, and I love that I never know when I will receive them.
Bright Tuesday 