In the wise words of Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”

We all seem to have gotten so caught up on having to make it to this meeting or getting a good grade in this class or whatever else it is that we are focused on in our life, we forget to give God our glory, and forget to make sure the important people in our life still know they are important. If you knew tomorrow was the last day you would have with your best friend would you spend it fighting over the stupid boy that likes the both of you or would you hang out and laugh and enjoy yourselves?

Matthew 6:27 says, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

Being caught up on the little things distracts us from the big picture we are a part of. As a generation, we worry so much, and all of it is pointless. Worrying about possible outcomes and what you need to be doing later or if you actually passed that test yesterday does nothing for you. There is no benefit. You prevent yourself from living your life to your full potential by not praying about your problems. How many times have you prayed about an issue as much as you've talked to others about it?

Proverbs 16:24 says, “Kind words are like honey, sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”

This leads into another issue of gossiping. About a month ago this flow chart started circulating Facebook, the top said something along the lines of “someone offends me” and it branched off into two different options. You could tell people about the problem, or go directly to God in prayer. If you talked to people about the problem, they then would think less of the person who had hurt you, and then they too speak negatively about this person. However if you directly prayed about it, God listens to you and gives His perspective and you feel peace and the need to tell others is gone. By telling others you have directly, knowingly, and willfully disobey God’s Word, whereas by praying about it, you have honored God by valuing unity and obeying God’s Word. He is always there to talk to about whatever goes on in your life.

Proverbs 17:22 says, “A cheerful heart is great medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

By eliminating gossip from your daily activities you can live a much more stress-free life. People get so focused on all the negative things other people are telling them that they miss so many great moments happening around them. As a society, the negativity is almost thrown at us from all directions. It seems like the news hardly ever has anything positive to share and things like this really set the tone for how so many people look at life. How can you expect to live a joyful life and truly embrace every day when you are looking at the negatives? Not only is being positive spiritually beneficial, but it also helps your physical health by eliminating stress. Your life cannot be prosperous if you are so focused on the negative aspects and worrying about everything that goes on. By being positive and uplifting you benefit not only yourself but others who are struggling, too. This helps you live in the moment because you aren’t looking or waiting for something to go wrong. You are simply living life and enjoying it.

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

If you are too focused on your Instagram that you miss your best friend telling them they got the internship they’ve wanted for months, or too busy snap chatting pictures of your food to actually have a conversation with your server at a restaurant, you're really not living in the moment. This phenomena is an ever growing dilemma with people being too dedicated to their social media life and not the one they are actually living. It is so important and meaningful that you are present in the physical moment you are in. Technology has eliminated so many possible situations and moments that nobody can even be “awkward” anymore. Waiting for your friend to pick you up? Just open an app or text someone. Arrive at someone’s house? Just text them. I am honestly baffled by the fact that doorbells just haven’t been completely eliminated. If you were to focus on God's word for just a fraction of the time that you are focused on making sure your Instagram caption is just right or picking the right filter, your life would be far more rewarding and you would be so much happier.

Proverbs 19:21 says, “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.”

You can't change God's play. If you try, this leads to many unhappy days and problems in your life. I think of it as if your life is a puzzle and everything you are a part of is a different piece, when you try to put a piece of the puzzle that isn’t supposed to be there in the puzzle, you have to force itin-between some pieces and it will stick out and it won’t make sense with the entire big picture. This tends to happen when you want something so much and God has told you no or not right now. You don’t want to force anything to happen in your life. What is meant to be will happen, because God’s hand is in your life, and He will make sure everything turns out just fine. Don’t force puzzle pieces together, because they can't say stay together.

Life is hard, with or without prayer. But you can make it at least a little bit easier on yourself by trying to follow what God’s Word says to do. Be present in every moment you have, don’t waste time doing things that really don’t matter, don’t sit around and worry, do things you love and pour yourself over God’s Word. Life is meant to be fun, and if you’re too caught up on all these little things, you just might miss it.