On Christmas morning our family was sitting around the tree unwrapping our packages. Kate and Molly both received necklaces from their sister Laura and were very excited. The necklaces weren’t 14K gold, but they were several steps up from Claire’s boutique, where every junior high school girl can get her ears pierced. Before I could catch myself, the words came tumbling out of my mouth, “Oh, those are so nice and perfect to wear to special places.”

The comment was subliminal and deeply rooted. It also relates to an area I have been addressing lately. Saving something you love can be good because you can enjoy it longer. However, there are times I have gone overboard. In high school, I would only use a small squirt of my Ambush and Shalimar perfumes in hopes that they would last forever. A generation later, Laura said the same thing. On Sunday mornings, she would measure out one small spray of her Sunflower perfume, a “must have” for any 7th grade girl in the 90’s. It began to smell like some awful colored water and was then relegated to the back of the bathroom drawer. When she headed to college, it finally got thrown out.

These attitudes of saving and waiting for the perfect moment have bubbled over into other areas of my life. My Dad, always gave his children a heart shape box of Whitman’s chocolate every Valentines Day. I learned that if I only ate one piece a day I could make it last until Easter. Yes, it began to taste awful, but I was committed. I have soaps, lotions, candles, outdated clothes and shoes and fancy jars of jellies that are in my cabinets that have gone bad because I have waited for just the right time to use them. Saving them and waiting for the perfect moment have made them of no use at all.

Waiting for the perfect moment can include other areas. I have waited to visit a sick neighbor, write a note to a friend who needs encouragement, or make a decision because I felt like all areas needed to be considered. Maybe I wanted to have a meal to give, new stationary, or more information and counseling that would insure that my actions were right. There are certain actions that have, “windows of time,” that expire with saving and waiting.

Some decisions are especially hard. We can have information and wise counsel and still feel conflicted. The truth is that the information and counseling can differ with different people. We still face our own decisions. If we wait for the perfect moment for something to happen, we forget to live the minutes, hours and days that the Lord has for us now.

As we begin this new year, I don’t want to save up moments of life that are meant to be lived right now. These moments will not keep like fancy soaps or lotions that can stay good for months. I want to live out the moments that are given me today.

Kate has made a decision that she will wear her new necklace, even if it is into the rough inner city school where she teaches in Houston, Texas. She likes her new jewelry and it will look good with some of her outfits. She is not saving the necklace for a special night out.

I want decisions in my life to reflect the here and now. This will involve me moving forward with the Lord’s help and guidance and taking action with what is place before me. To seal this deal, I think I will go and light a brand, new, scented candle. No need to save it for next year!

“This is the day the lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24