Savoring the Strawberry

I'm currently reading The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning and I came across a story that really spoke to me.

"The monk raced to the edge of a cliff, glanced back, and saw the growling tiger about to spring. The monk spotted a rope dangling over the edge of the cliff. He grabbed it and began shinnying down the side of the cliff out of the clutches of the tiger. Whew! Narrow escape. The monk then looked down and saw a quarry of jagged rocks five hundred feet below. He looked up and saw the tiger poised atop the cliff with bared claws. Just then, two mice began to nibble at the robe. What to do?

The monk saw a strawberry within arm's reach, growing out of the face of the cliff. He plucked it, ate it, and exclaimed, 'Yum! That's the best strawberry I've ever tasted in my entire life.' If he had been preoccupied with the rock below (the future) or the tiger above (the past), he would have missed the strawberry God was giving him in the present moment."
-Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel, pg.54

Sometimes we are so bogged down by our worries about the future or the nagging nature of our past that we forget to enjoy the present time. We forget to savor the strawberries. What I like about this story is that the past and future are so frightening, and yet the monk takes time to enjoy the present.

We don't exactly know what the future holds, but we can trust that God holds our future in His hands. We know that through His grace and mercy, we will make it through anything that comes our way. In the same vein, our past may be awful and full of turmoil and pain, yet we are called to walk forward into God's beautiful plans for our lives.

We are called to trust God and not be preoccupied with the past or future.

Does anyone else find that hard?

Sometimes, I personally find it very hard not to be preoccupied with the past due to the intrusive memories I have because of my PTSD. But every day, it's getting easier. I'm looking forward to when I don't have the flashbacks, nightmares and intrusive memories anymore.

I'm looking forward to being able to savor the strawberries in the present.