let's stop asking, "what's next?"

The lessons, hardships, challenges, and celebrations of today are the moments we are asked to enjoy — to be present for. — Rebecca Smith, A Better Life Cherish Today by Rebecca Smith from A Better Life Stop Wishing for the Next Season of Life and Start Living Today's   Tell me if this sounds familiar.   You're seventeen years old, a senior in high school, and all anyone can ask you about is where you're going to go to college and what you're going to major in. You finally choose a college and a major, pack up all your belongings, and move into the dorms.   On the first day of class, you meet a cute guy, and after a few dates, the two of you decide to make it official. Months later everyone starts whispering and wondering and asking when the two of you are going to get engaged. He finally pops the question, and you, of course, scream yes and change your Facebook status to "engaged" and post a picture of your new diamond. After everyone's exclamations of congratulations, they immediately want to know when the wedding will be.   Your honeymoon isn't even over yet when family members start dropping hints about having kids. And while you are still expecting your first child, people start asking how many more kids you hope to have.   What's next? What's next? What's next?   It's never-ending and dizzying to think about. Sometimes, everything in life feels as though it's focused on the "what's next" mentality. If you're not careful, your life can start to resemble a rat race. As soon as you've reached the end of one tiny maze, the "wall" opens, and you realize there is an entirely new race to run. It's exhausting. We reach one stage of life — earn a degree, get married, or have a baby — then the finish line moves, and we need to keep running. There's no time to each the cheese. Living life this way means there is no time to sit and enjoy the season of life you're in, because your eyes are always focused on what's to come.   There is a better way. There is a way to live this life and fully enjoy the moment. We can wake up to how fragile and fleeting this life is in comparison to eternity and make our days memorable and our relationships important. We can sit in the moment — the today — look around, and be grateful for what we have without wishing for the next season of life.   As my company Better Life Bags was growing, podcasts had begun popping up left and right. In these early days of podcasts, I was asked to be a guest on quite a few. And no matter who was interviewing me, one thing never failed. After hearing the story of my hobby getting bigger, the hiring of Nadia, the leather being added to the bags, the hiring of more women, and my realization that this was an actual business, one of the last questions of the podcast would always be: "So, what's next for Better Life Bags?"   I realize this was a genuinely curious question and perhaps fair to ask a person who runs a business that needs to keep growing and changing in order to thrive. But, honestly, I never quite knew the answer to that question. And I wondered why the answer mattered so much. Why did everyone want to know? It seemed to minimize all the stories I had just shared. The "what's next?" always sounded as though I hadn't done enough already. As if starting a business, navigating taxes, and hiring women from our under-resourced neighborhood wasn't enough.   That there had to be something more. Another goal to reach. Another race to run. Another definition of success. Maybe that's the problem. Everyone's definition of success skews the conversation. I had felt very successful in transitioning a hobby into a business and was so proud to have fifteen skilled women from Hamtramck working at Better Life Bags. Success to me would be maintaining that.   Success to someone else might be making $1 million of product per quarter. Success to another might be selling the business for a profit and starting something new. But what if my business never grew beyond these fifteen women in Hamtramck? Would that mean I had failed? I didn't know the answer to that. So I'd muddle my way through the interview, telling them something I thought they would want to hear.   *   One day I got tired of it. I got tired of feeding into the lie that we were not okay right where we were. That our fifteen-woman, six-figure business was somehow mediocre compared with others around us. And my answers to those frequently asked questions changed.   "You know," I'd quietly start out, "if we remain exactly the same size for the next twenty years, I'll consider that a success. Even if we get smaller but still invest well in the people God has put in our company, we will be winning. We don't have big plans to grow or lots of money invested in marketing campaigns. We are simply doing our best to follow God's leading and step into the opportunities He sends our way — your podcast being one of them!"   The podcaster would wholeheartedly agree, and I hoped my message of being okay where you are would reach the heart of someone listening. Growth does not always equal success. Sometimes the best plan for your dreams — and even your business — might be to stay the same size you are now. Or — gasp! — even get smaller.   The Bible instructs us in 1 Thessalonians 4 to lead a quiet life — to mind our own business and work with our hands.   This is extremely hard to do when today's world of social media is shouting at us that big is better than small and explosive growth is better than growing slowly.   I've learned along the way that it's not about the destination. It's not about the finish line or checking off the final task on the list. The real living happens in the journey of getting there. The lessons, hardships, challenges, and celebrations of today are the moments we are asked to enjoy — to be present for.   Read more on the blog... Excerpted with permission from A Better Life by Rebecca Smith, copyright Rebecca Smith. Your Turn   Today is challenging for so many of us. But today is what we have! Today is all we are promised by God. Let's cherish it! Come share your thoughts with us on our blog. We want to hear from you!~ Devotionals Daily COMMENT Share this devotion with someone who needs it today. This is your chance to slow down and enjoy a better life. Don't miss out on today!   Save 40% off A Better Life: Slowing Down to Get Ahead by Rebecca Smith   The founder of Better Life Bags, Rebecca Smith teaches us how to take little steps, say yes when God calls, and follow the passion He has given us. Softcover Regular: $18.99 Softcover Sale Price: $11.39 (40% off) + free U.S. shipping* on orders $30 or more SHOP NOW Let love stretch you. As the founder of one of the most popular custom handbag companies in the country, Rebecca Smith knows a thing or two about business. A highly successful entrepreneur in a world where the focus is on scalability, brand strategy, and global marketing, Rebecca Smith also knows the truth: that every success she's experienced at Better Life Bags has been the result of very small, very ordinary, very obedient steps of faith.   Moving from Savannah, Georgia, to Hamtramck, Michigan, was culture shock enough for Rebecca. But trying to feel at home in a city where twenty-six different languages were spoken and most of the inhabitants were immigrants seemed downright impossible. It was only when Rebecca recognized that God had called her to this specific neighborhood at this particular moment in time that his plans began to unfold for her. Stepping forward into the place God had called her - a place that seemed messy and uncomfortable and unfamiliar - Rebecca discovered the true secret to success: when we slow down, pay attention, and trust that still, small voice of God to guide us, we just might change the world.   Though Rebecca never set out to build a brand or create an empire, God saw Rebecca's heart for others, and began to multiply her efforts in ways she could have never imagined, creating a company where women from different cultures, faiths, and backgrounds work together for the good of others - for a better life.   As you read this inspiring story, you will discover how to hear and follow God's voice for yourself as you slow down, take one small step at a time, and make a difference in the world right where you are. Learn more and save 40% off *Sale prices valid through 9/30/2020, excluding eBooks.  eBooks purchases are fulfilled by our partner, Glose.  Free U.S. shipping on orders $30 or more, excluding Alaska and Hawaii Devotionals Daily ~ our mission is to help you grow and share your faith. Did you receive this message from a friend? Sign up to start receiving Devotionals Daily. Copyright © 2020 HarperCollins Christian Publishing,  All Rights Reserved. 501 Nelson Place, Nashville, TN  37214  USA Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy *Manage your eMail preferences or unsubscribe  Want to change how you receive these emails? You can *update your preferences or *unsubscribe from this list.  Subscription Information This email was sent to Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog   *the blog owner has deleted the hyperlink intentionally