You know the song, “If I Could Save Time in a Bottle.” One of my favorite lines in the song is, “But there never seems to be enough time, to do the things you want to do once you find them.” This time of the year this sentiment is even more true. With graduations, weddings, and other family celebrations in full swing, we become very aware of the passing of time.

Watching granddaughter Mary Grace graduate from high school last weekend was bittersweet. While I am certainly proud of her accomplishments, I was not really ready for this. I remember, as if it were yesterday, Mary Grace as a toddler standing at her glass door crying as she watched me leave. These years have passed at lightning speed. I can only imagine how quickly the next few years will pass. I hope to be healthy enough to enjoy each upcoming transition. (It goes without saying that I hope to live long enough to do so!)

Sitting in our home looking at photos of Mary Grace and our other grandchildren through various stages reminds me of how fast time and life pass. While Mary Grace is now a high school graduate soon to leave home to attend the University of Georgia, our youngest grandchild, Hayden, will be a year old this summer. And our precious other grandchildren are growing by leaps and bounds also.

We can’t slow time down, but we can prepare for how our life changes as we and our loved ones age. Mike and I have settled into our new (transition) home. While the move from our home that we built almost thirty-five years ago into a much smaller and very different home has not been an easy transition, we made the move that we needed to make. This home is much easier to manage, and it is exactly what we need at this point in time. We do not yet have a longer-term plan, and I do not want to rush that decision. I am confident that we will have a clear picture of that when it is time. While I would like to be able to see further ahead than I am able to, I am learning to live with ambiguity.

Looking back and yearning for what we left behind is tempting, but it isn’t productive. Looking ahead and wanting all the answers to our future is also tempting, but no more productive than looking back. What is best is to learn to be content with whatever stage we are in, to live in the present, being grateful for our blessings. As apostle Paul, who said in Philippians 4:11-12, “I have learned, in whatever circumstances I am, to be content.”

Being content is a choice. It isn’t always easy. But it is a choice that can help us to weather life’s ups and downs. When we focus more on what we have than what we had, and what we can do more than what we can’t, we can find the joy that might otherwise escape us.

I choose to be thankful for everyday blessings, wherever I find them. I hope that you are able to do so also.