Last night, I saw a pumpkin moon. Well, I’m sure it wasn’t technically called a pumpkin moon, and it wasn’t actually last night because we were in the wee hours of the morning–but in my itchy-eyed newly yanked from dreams state, leading a giant horse of a puppy with an upset tummy around the yard in my bathrobe, the moon looked like a giant pumpkin in the sky. And it was cool. Though I was tired and annoyed and hot because it’s summer in Missouri, I paused for a moment to give God thanks for letting me see that remarkable moon (no joke–it was pumpkin orange!).

However, the next two times the pup woke me up I was not as grateful to be roaming the yard and gazing at the sky. Honestly, at one point, I thought about just opening the side door and letting her fend for herself. Raising this puppy has been exhausting–much more like caring for my children when they were toddlers than any other dog I remember having. We have moments of pure bliss, when she is cuddly and sweet and a marvelous companion. Then there are the other moments, when she’s jumping and nipping, or when you come home and see that she’s thrown a massive party in your absence, complete with special piles of mess you then get to clean up. In my worst moments I think: We should never have gotten another dog!

But then God sends me a message, like the quarterly email I got from our dog training place, where someone much more experienced with puppies than I am had the foresight to say: Enjoy the dog you have, even if it’s not the dog you envisioned it would be.

Well…that’ll preach. As I think about my life, I realize that this little nugget of truth applies on so many different levels. How many times have I thought that if only things were different, then I would be content. If my kids were more driven, or if I were more organized, or if we had a different house, or if we took more trips, or if I was more generous, or if we lived closer to family, or if I could just get one non-interrupted night of sleep.

I think many of us live on the “if only” side of life. We look around at the images others choose to share of their existence and think–that’s what I need to do in order to be fulfilled! We keep looking ahead to the next season and ignore the beauty God wants to show us through the season we’re in. We miss the pumpkin moons because we’re waiting for the sun to rise on a new day, rather than reveling in the miracle that the present day we’re living in is.

As I journey farther into middle age (another “if only”…), I’m realizing the importance of embracing the season I’m in, rather than wishing it away so I can get to something better. Because the reality is, there isn’t a better out there. We will never crest that hill or round that bend into our #livingmybestlife season because it doesn’t really exist. Life is a series of seasons, each with its highs and lows. And as God’s created ones, I think we need to embrace all of it as it comes, rather than seeking the “if onlys” of our imaginations.

The apostle Paul wrote a lot about contentment. By the time he was sharing his wisdom in the epistles, he’d learned to cultivate a life of peace (or, at least that’s what he said!). But Paul’s contentment was hard-won. He sacrificed the life he had built for himself in order to follow Christ. Paul gave up his hopes and dreams–his actual home–to travel the Mideast seeking to share the good news with others. He walked and walked, slept outdoors, encountered angry mobs, had his name slandered, was unjustly imprisoned, and wasn’t ever really accepted by the elite disciples. Paul likely had a long litany of if onlys going through his mind…but he chose to push them aside and find the wonder of what God was working through each season of his journey. Paul told the early church:

This week, I’m going to make a concentrated effort to follow Paul’s example. I’m going to shove away the “if onlys” that will invariably come to mind and, instead, look for something in this season for which I can be grateful. Today is all we are ever promised, so let’s not waste it wishing it would be something different. Instead, let’s choose to see the pumpkin moon and give thanks that we were awake to witness it.

Blessings and Peace,

Sara