Your Good is in the Now by Rev. Teresa Stuefloten M.Div., 2/16/2025

Good Morning! Today I am going to talk about your good. We all want all of the good we can get in our life! Why would we not? Where can we get our good?

Your good is in the now, not in the future and not in the past. The only moment you truly have is now. What is good right now? This is where our true happiness lies, in the now. We need to learn to look for our good in the present moment. Psalm 118:24 says, This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Our good is in the now.

We can spend a lot of time reminiscing about the past, thinking that things were better back then. When we think about the past we usually do it with rose-colored glasses, thinking everything was perfect “back then” and forgetting that the past had its challenges, just as the present does. That is the nature of life. There are always challenges because that’s how we grow. When life has no challenges we stay stagnant. Some people are afraid to venture out in life for fear of the challenges. The challenges in life teach us lessons we need to learn in order to grow spiritually into the consciousness we are meant to have. Challenges teach us to turn to our relationship with God for our support, strength and comfort.

We can also spend a lot of time looking for our good in the future, planning for it, doing things we think will bring about our good in the future. We may get an education, training, or an internship, planning for a good job that we feel will come from the status of a college degree, or training in a trade. We may think that our good, our happiness, lies in a good job. The Divine supplies all that we need, and that may, indeed, come in the form of a job that allows resources to flow to us. But while we are working on the training or degree, what is good in the present moment? What is good where we are right now? What is the good in the life we are living right now?

We may work toward buying our own home, thinking we will be happy when we have home that we own, rather than a home we rent. But when we own the home, anything that breaks is our job to get repaired and to pay for. The responsibility is now ours. Owning our own home has challenges, too. If you are currently renting an apartment, a condo, a mobile home, or a house, what are the blessings of where you are right now? God is always blessing you. What is good right now?

The tiny house movement is an example of people looking for their good in the present moment. The people who embrace tiny house living want to unhook from a big mortgage and having to work so hard to make the payments, to the good of having a home that is paid off and having more time to spend in the present moment with family and being in nature, enjoying the now. They have realized the joy of being in the present moment with the people who are important to them.

We may focus on finding a mate, thinking that our life will be happy once we have “my person,” as they like to say on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette shows. But we all know that relationships are not all smooth sailing. Relationships have their challenges. Again, that’s how we grow. Chasing our good in the future prevents us from seeing the good in the present. If you are not currently in a relationship with a significant other, what is good in your life right now? What is good about being independent? You can do what you want without having to consider someone else’s desires and preferences. You are learning to be strong by navigating life as a single person.

If you are in a relationship, what is good in the relationship right now? What can you be thankful for? We are each Divine expressions, made in the image and likeness of God. Whether we are single or in a relationship, we are already whole and complete. God is our constant companion. We can experience that wholeness in God only in the present moment, not in the past and not in the future. Our wholeness is now!

My husband of almost 52 years, Rev Mark, passed away on October 1, 2024. For the first time in 52 years I am living my life without my partner by my side. In addition to navigating grief, I am having to make decisions on my own, go places by myself, and plan a future by myself. Now, I know that I am truly never alone. I know my oneness with God. I know that I am always supported by the Divine. I know all of this, and yet my reality is that when I am eating a meal at home, I am sitting there without another person to have a mealtime conversation with, and when I go to bed at night, no one is physically present with me to snuggle with. I do often feel Rev Mark’s presence with me, but it doesn’t yet feel the same as having him physically present with me. I’m sure everyone who has lost a spouse can relate to this. Life has changed.

But what is good in the present in my life? I am taking my grandson to his college classes at a campus that is about an hour and a half from where we live. I am getting to hear his ideas and how he thinks about life. That is a blessing to get to know my grandson as a young adult.

I am visiting a friend who no longer drives and lives about 10 minutes from my grandson’s campus, so I get to enjoy his company and have conversations about spiritual topics with him, something he is very interested in and has not found anyone in his community to talk with about this topic. The visits are blessing for both of us.

I go to the exercise classes that Rev Mark and I used to attend together. I remember what it was like to go to the classes with my husband in the past, and it was difficult to return to those classes alone, but I cannot live in the past. We developed friends in the class, so I have people to connect with and go to Starbucks with after class to talk and laugh together. Those friendships are a Divine blessing that is in the present moment.

Four years ago we bought a shared property in the countryside with our daughter and son-in-law, so I have family very close by. My house is small and cozy, and I have space outdoor for gardening, which I love. Those are all blessings that exist in the present moment.

My husband had an office and art studio next to our little house. I now have that space free to make a sewing studio for myself where I can make quilts to donate from the large stash of fabric scraps I have accumulated over the years. That blessing is in the present moment.

I have taken Rev Mark’s position of Assistant Minister, and I am learning to do two sermons every month. I was a volunteer minister when we had a physical location in the past and did occasional sermons, as I was working a full time job in my career at the time. It’s very different doing a sermon twice a month. It has intensified my spiritual practice, teaching me to become closer in my relationship with the Divine. I can be tempted to get a little panicky at times about finding a topic and material for a sermon. I am learning to trust that the ideas will be supplied and they will come from the Divine, so I need to pay attention and be in the present moment. As I am consistent with my meditation practice, connecting with the Divine within, ideas flow from the Source of all that is, God.

I know that the same is true for you in your your life. There are blessings in your life in the present moment when you stop and look. There is a Divine plan for your life that is unfolding in Divine Order when you are consistent in your connection with the Divine. The ideas are there when you maintain your daily connection through prayer and meditation. What is good in your life right now? It is through appreciating what is present in the now that your future good is created. You don’t need to go chasing your future good. It is already in process when you are maintaining your relationship with God. Your future good is already coming to you. You don’t need to worry and stress about it. Matthew 6:34 say, “Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.” But, where you are right now is in the present, so what is good right now? Remember the only place that you can truly experience your good is in the present moment.

In the Bible there is a story about Mary and Martha, two sisters who were friends with Jesus. The story is in Luke 10:38-42. “ And it came to pass while they were journeying, he (Jesus) entered into a village; and a woman named Martha received him into her house. She had a sister whole name was Mary, and she came and sat at the feet of our Lord and listened to his words. But Martha was busy with many household cares, and she came and said to him, my Lord, you do not seem to care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me. Jesus answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you are worried and excited about many things; But one thing is more important; and Mary has chosen the good portion for herself, which shall not be taken away from her.”

When Jesus came to their house for a visit, Martha was rushing around doing things that she thought were important for Jesus’ visit. She was probably preparing a meal, and perhaps cleaning the house. Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to his wisdom being revealed to her. Mary understood that her good was in the present moment. Jesus’ Divine wisdom was being revealed to her in the present moment and she did not want to miss it. Martha thought that after all of the work was done she could then relax and things would be good. She could listen to Jesus then, after the work was done.

Martha was missing the blessing of the good in the present moment for an imagined future good. Suppose Jesus got called away for something important, like someone who needed to be healed, and he left before the meal? Martha would have missed the good that was in the present moment because she was so busy preparing for the future good that she imagined would be perfect because she had done what she thought was needed for the perfect future moment. She was mad a Mary for being in the moment, listening to Jesus, rather than helping her with the work she thought needed doing. Jesus told her that Mary had made the better choice, being in the moment of the good that was present, in the now. And Mary’s good will not be taken away from her. Our spiritual growth is the only thing that we can take with us when we leave this physical realm. That’s why Mary’s choice to be in the present moment was the right choice.

Martha could have joined Mary at Jesus’ feet in the present moment and received the blessings of his teachings. When Jesus was done talking she could have asked him to join them for a meal, and invited Mary to come and help her prepare the meal.

If we examine our own life, what blessings are we missing out on by always preparing for the future, or living in nostalgia for the past, rather than being fully in the present moment?

Are we, like Martha, putting the accomplishment of tasks, work we feel is important, ahead of our spiritual practice? Is meditation and prayer at the top of your to-do list when you get up in the morning? Do you make meditation and prayer a priority? Or, like Martha, do you think you will get to meditation and prayer after the work is done? What spiritual revelations are you missing out on by putting meditation and prayer at the bottom of the to-do list?

The world pulls at our attention. The potential of doom seems to be everywhere right now, in the news, on TV, radio, in our email inbox, on social media. If we consume too much of this we can begin to feel negative, upset, worried, depressed, and panicky. We can fail to see the good in the present moment if we are focused on worry about the future.

One of Rev Mark’s favorite movies was Pollyanna. It’s a Disney movie starring the young Haley Mills. Haley’s character, Pollyanna, is a good-finder. She is always looking for the good in any and all situations in the present moment. Her parents, who were missionaries, have died and she has come to live with her wealthy aunt. Her good finding initially irritates the people in her new community who would rather focus on fault finding and complaining about the troubles they see in their lives and in the community. Even the minister is preaching doom and gloom. Pollyanna begins pointing out the good she sees in what is in the present moment in each person’s life. Little by little she begins to change the thinking of those around her with her positive thinking and focus on the good in the present moment. She is lifting people up with her focus on the present good. Rev Mark’s motto was “Positive thinking, positive results.” That’s why he loved this movie.

Rev Mark also loved Mr Rogers, who did the PBS children’s show for many years. Fred Rogers was actually an ordained Presbyterian minister. His PBS children’s show, Mr Roger’s Neighborhood, was a gentle, slow paced show with lessons for children in seeing the good in people and situations, and feeling compassion for others. The title song that began each show was “Its a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” focusing on the good that is in each day. Tom Hanks starred as Fred Rogers in a wonderful 2019 movie, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. I highly recommend the movie if you have not seen it.

Fred Rogers’ mother told him when he was a child that when there was a problem in the world, look for the helpers. She told him there would always be helpers. We can see that today if we look. For example, there is war in Ukraine and Gaza. World Central Kitchen is feeding people in both of these areas, and has been since the beginning, even after their own people were killed in a bombing in Gaza.

Many people lost their homes in the fires in the LA area recently, and World Central Kitchen was there, feeding the people who were now without a home. The Red Cross was also there helping the fire victims. These are only a small portion of the helpers who are in the present moment, doing good to help others who are in need due to world conditions. It’s easy to look just at the negative, but there is good present if you have eyes to see it. Having a positive mindset gives you the eyes to see the good in the present moment.

Former President Jimmy Carter was a good-finder and a helper. He did so much good for others through Habitat for Humanity, even picking up a hammer himself and helping to build homes for those in need. And he met with world leaders to promote cooperation and peace, even after he was no longer president. He was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

Remember, the present moment is the only moment we truly have. We can only truly live in the present. If you are living in regret of things you did in the past, putting your focus on the past and allowing yourself to sink into depression about the past, it is essential to learn to let go of the regrets. If you knew then what you know now, you would have made different choices. That fact that you have regrets means you have grown spiritually. Forgive yourself so that you can live in the present moment and truly enjoy the now. If you can’t forgive yourself, get some counseling to help you let go of the past. You are a new person. We are born anew in each moment that we live in the blessings of the present moment. God is speaking to you in the present moment. God is not speaking to you in the past or in the future. God is speaking to you right now. Each time you go within in meditation and prayer is a new opportunity to listen to what God wants to communicate to you. Don’t miss out on that opportunity. Psalm 16:11 says, “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

Paramahansa Yoganana, in his book Autobiography of a Yogi, relates an experience he had as a young monk when he had been serving the people all day who had come to a spiritual event. He was very tired and was tempted to skip his meditation and just go to sleep. But he remembered his spiritual teacher’s instruction to turn to God in meditation morning and evening, so he decided keep his commitment to meditate before going to sleep. He had a very deep meditation filled with God’s Divine Light. He said he would have missed that sacred experience if he had gone to sleep.

If you have had beautiful meditation experiences in the past, don’t rest on those past experiences. God has more for you in the present moment. Keep your commitment to meditate every day. Don’t miss out on those blessings.

If there is a problem in your life that you don’t know how to solve, turn it over to God and let God solve the problem for you. Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Let go and let God do the work. Lift your consciousness up and look to see what is manifesting in the present moment. Be in the present moment, looking for the blessings, expecting the problem to be solved. The solution is already in the process of coming forth and manifesting when you have turned the problem over to God. All we have to do is be open and receptive to the good that is coming forth. We need to be wiling to go with God’s solution to the problem. Sometimes we don’t know what the best solution is on the human level, and we may be tempted to reject God’s solution. We need to learn to let go of our idea, which is usually the ego’s idea, and allow the Divine solution to manifest. That means keeping our focus on the present moment. No fear, just learning to trust in God.

February is the month of love, with Valentines Day that we have just celebrated, giving love to others in our life. We can only experience God’s love in the present moment. We can be the expression of God’s love in the lives of others, as we are Divine expressions and God’s love flows through us. We can share that love in the present moment.

When you leave this physical lifetime, what degree do you want to take with you? How about a Masters Degree in Spiritual Growth and Divine Love?

An Affirmation from Roy Eugene Davis says, “I have absolute faith in the goodness of life.” This is a good affirmation for teaching yourself to live in the present moment, believing that the good will come forth in each moment. I invite you to repeat that affirmation with me now: “I have absolute faith in the goodness of life.” (Repeat)