Here & Now

When I hear the phrase, "here and now" the first thing that comes to mind is the song, "Here and Now" by Luther Vandross. The song is a classic so I would hope that you would know it but just in case you don't here's the chorus:

Here and now
I promise to love faithfully [Faithfully]
You're all I need
Here and now
I vow to be one with thee [You and me], hey
Your love is all [I need] I need

It really it is a beautiful song. A man promising to be faithful and vowing to be one with the love of his life... I'm sure that numerous people have gotten married to this song and plenty babies have been conceived with this song playing in the background. HOWEVER, I can't help but wonder why he's stressing the here and now so much. Some might say that he's just focused on being in the moment but I would argue, what if he's stressing the here and now because there and then he wasn't faithful and he was not only one with the girl he was singing to he was one with Keisha and Tanya and Sarah and Jamie too. Is the girl just supposed to believe him and all of his here and now promising and vowing and just forget there and then???

Now isn't it convenient that as I'm typing this Musiq Soulchild's song, "Today" is playing in the background on my computer. Now look at the lyrics of this song, 

"Today"

[Verse 1:]
People always on a search tryna find that one (one)
But it's funny how they may not recognize it when it finally comes
(think it's) think it's at the mall
(or it's) or it's sippin' at the bar
All these dates and phone conversations we doing it all for what
When your Mrs. Right it's always Mrs. Wrong (Mrs. Wrong)
But I never stop to notice you where there all along (yeah)
Girl you're everything I could ever want and need
Now it's all clear to me and that's why

[Chorus:]
Today I've made up my mind
I'm gonna take this chance, bet my life on this
Cause this precious love I've found in you
My yesterday's are gone and tomorrow's never promised to no one
I finally decided girl that my today is you

[Verse 2:]
Now that I'm about to put myself (self) out on a limb for love that means (no more) no more at
the club (tryna) pick something up
No more late night creepin' holler'n trying to see what's good for the night
I wanna be the best man for you (so)
If I gotta change my ways then baby I'll do
(whatever) whatever I got to keep you here by my side and starting with today

[Chorus:]
Today I've made up my mind
I'm gonna take this chance, bet my life on this
Cause this precious love I've found in you
My yesterday's are gone and tomorrow's never promised to no one
I finally decided girl that my today is you

[Bridge:]
It took me a while (said it kinda took me a while)
To realize just how much (how much you really)
Really mean to me though what we have is so clear anyone can see
But I was just (tryna keep it on the low)
But I wasn't ready for love (I wasn't sure but now I know)
Now I believe that you and I were meant to be and that's why

[Chorus:]
Today I've made up my mind
I'm gonna take this chance, bet my life on this
Cause this precious love I've found in you
My yesterday's are gone and tomorrow's never promised to no one
I finally decided girl that my today is you 

See this is exactly what I'm talking about! Some girls would be like, "Awww that's so sweet," and hug and kiss a dude if he sang this to her, but a girl like me would be like, "What the hell-o kitty took you so long!?!" This may sound like the ranting of a bitter, crazy woman because it is, LOL. I have been called bitter more times than I care to admit this week by one friend. Then another friend told me just yesterday that I need to focus on the here and now, both of which regarding a situation with this one dude. (Yep, the same dude I'm trying to get selective amnesia for, LOL.) Now these two particular friends are really good close friends who are both really wise and have really strong relationships with the Lord so if they're both telling me the same thing I should probably listen...

I recognize today that I can't keep living in the past. Just because someone hurt me in the past doesn't mean that he'll do the same thing again. There is a difference between being cautious and having discernment and building up walls that are impossible to break through. The reality of the situation is that I still do care about this dude and I'm not saying that there will ever be a "Here and Now" or a "Today" moment between us but I know that there will never be one if I keep holding on to the past and I remain bitter. 

It reminds me of the message Paul sends us in Philippians 3:12-14 about pressing toward the goal:

Philippians 3:12-14:

Pressing toward the Goal

   ¹² I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. ¹³ No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it,^[a] but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

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Paul's goal was not only to get to know God but to be like Him and he was not willing to let anything get in the way of him reaching his goal. He realized that he had to change his focus in order to go where he needed to go. He chose to let go of his shortcomings and his past and focus on the promise of eternal life in God. 

The message I want to leave with you today is less about this boy but more about focusing on the here and now. What goals do you have for yourself? For your relationships? For your career? For you family? Let go of the past- past failures, past heartbreaks, past conflicts, any negativity in your past and focus on your goal. Don't let the past hinder your future. Although you may not be perfect and you may not have achieved your goals yet if you continue to press I believe with the help of God you will reach your goals. God bless. =)