“We discover always too late that the marvel is in each moment”.

That quote holds an array of meanings for me. This upcoming Easter weekend is our church’s 14th anniversary. Where has the time gone? In a blink ~ we have been at this for 14 years!! In a blink – one year becomes two, which becomes 5, which becomes 14! One moment you’re telling a friend or a family member that you’ll see them soon ~ next thing you know ~ you look up and it’s been years.

Discovering too late… That is something I was praying about last night. I found myself in a discussion with God, talking some things through with Him, just daughter to Dad. Are there things in my life that He has told me to “get into line” that I’ve taken my sweet time doing? Why do others take so long to have those “I get it” moments as well? Why does 1 year become two, which soon becomes 5? Can we continue through life and actually, “miss the boat”?

I’m going to be bold in saying that out of the many attitudes that could have a thing or two to do with this… hate is the one I’m going to focus on.

Now hear me out before shutting me down… We all have this opinion that “hate” always refers to our feelings towards others, things and even as simple as food. I was raised in a house where we were never allowed to say, “I hate such and such…” unless it had to do with that which is evil. So there is a misconception about this word. Many of us do not like to use the word all together – we may not say it out loud but I guarantee it… you’re thinking it!!

A Pastor friend of mine helped me out with the following:

Hate can also be against life, our day, our situation, our school, our responsibilities, our jobs, and ourselves. The devil begins by tearing our hearts, undermining our confidence, upsetting our balance, interfering with our rhythm and stealing our joy. He comes at us from the moment we wake up ~ with both real and imagined fears and complexities. He gets us to embrace a little non-compliance only to interfere with our peace of mind. Our thoughts are his battlefield (if you have not yet read, “Battlefield of the Mind” by Joyce Meyer… you should!).

Wise heavenly soldiers are most watchful in the twilight’s of their days ~ when they go to bed and when they wake up. That is why Paul tells us to, “take captive every thought that sets itself against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5). The failure to take captive those little “hate” thoughts ~ spawns in time ~ enough hatred for us to destroy our relationships with our neighbours and friends, our marriages, our church relationships, and even our relationship with God.

For those who fail to discipline their thoughts ~ life is a nightmare, a bore, a frustration, an intolerable thing, a continuous strain of an existence, a hatred of our waking hours, a constant hum of muddied thoughts, wishing that we lived someone else’s life, finding our identity in what others do, preferring to identify with someone else’s “success”, jealousy and envy of the lifestyles of others, of what “they” have, always hankering for something else’s strengths, wanting things that we haven’t ourselves had the courage to work for, no energy to do anything, wanting to pull the proverbial “blanket over our heads”… as if that will succeed in purging us from our pain.

Hatred begins in our minds when we don’t appreciate our moments. Hatred begins in our daily living. It attacks the pace of our lives and affects the flow of our loving. Hating our moments soon develops a hatred of others. To be happy, on the other hand, breeds an infectious joy that is seen all the way into our relationships. We want to take captive our thoughts. Every morning we want to feel the joy of being alive, of being in love, of family, of the church, of being in God.

If we will allow Him, God will help us to be free so that we can enjoy the moments!! He will take from us the fear of our situations, our insecurities, our stresses, our penchant to believe in the negative and to yield all that has been freely given to us ~ to unbelief. Yes, He will take it all and wipe away our fears and our tears. He is our father! We ought to know that and to love Him wholeheartedly (2 Chronicles 16:9).

What are you waiting for?