The Amnesia of the Now

This past weekend we took around 45 UNC-IV students to join a hundred and fifty students from Eastern Carolinas at our annual Emmaus conference. This year the theme was (as you might surmise from my posts this past week) "Knowing God's Will."

Willis and Amy Weber, two of my faves on IV staff at the College of Charleston, gave a fantastic team-talk on Saturday night. We wanted to call students on Saturday night away from focusing solely on God's will for their future to being fully present to what God has for them in the now--right where they are, on campus, on purpose. Here's a little piece that Amy gave (that I'll paraphrase from memory) that has really stuck with me this week:

We're in a place in our marriage where we have several long-term, ongoing conversations that have serious implications for our future. One thing that I wrestle with as I face major life decisions is a sickness that I affectionately refer to as "The Amnesia of the Now."

Amnesia of the now sounds something like this:

"I'm only going to be here for a few more months. Why should I bother to invest in my relationship with my neighbors?"

"I'm probably only going to live in Charleston for maybe five more years, why should I bother to really invest in the community here?"

In college for me it sounded something like this:

"I can't wait to move in with my real friends next semester in the apartment. Why should I bother to care for these people here in my suite when I'm probably not going to hang out with them after this anyway?"

"I'm only in this class because I have to be and it's just one semester. Why should I bother to get to know the people sitting around me?"

This amnesia of the now robs me of any ability to live fully present to the present. It keeps me from entering into God's work as it unfolds all around me. I am always looking ahead to the mythological future rather than being fully invested in the places God actually has me right now.
This is no way to live.