A warm house with soft lighting and comfortably worn-in chairs. Hot, delicious home-cooked soup and cold, fresh vegetables. A low murmur of conversation and bubbly laughter of friends and toddlers, forgetting the cares of everyday life in the simple pleasure of being together. The truest image of a picturesque moment, the kind you relish and wish to live in forever. If only I’d had a camera…
Sometimes they come as I sit and watch a young couple play with their young child or a young man offers his seat to an elderly woman. Sometimes the time-resistant picturesque moments come as I walk to campus and ponder on the wonderful blessings I’ve been given. Sometimes they come as I sit in my office and talk about linguistics, teaching, Spanish, or any combination thereof with my colleagues. Sometimes they come as I teach and bask in the delight I see in my students’ eyes when they finally understand and can’t help but blurt out, “I love Spanish!” Sometimes they come as I sit in the temple praying, at my desk reading the scriptures, or singing hymns with fellow Christians. Sometimes they come when I’m with my friends and stop paying attention to what’s going on to admire their beauty and goodness. And sometimes they come when I’m with my parents, siblings, and cousins reminiscing on the past, celebrating special occasions, or simply spending time with them. More and more lately, I feel pressure to hurry to finish, to make plans, to get my future plans in order. But almost just as much, I suddenly feel the pure joy of being in the right place and marveling at God’s goodness. Regardless of when they come, I love those moments and can’t help but smile and think, “How can life get any better than this?!”
I was talking to a friend about such moments tonight, and he mentioned the ending of a movie where the hero encourages a comedian to tell some jokes on a train to brighten the passengers’ lives before they die, and the filming slows as it pans the individuals laughing, being united in the simple, pure joy of being together in their last moments. The way he described it, I could picture it and it evoked memories of Christmases and birthdays filled with joy. Or even that last scene in The Giver when Jonas sees a family celebrating Christmas and singing carols together. I realized that it’s not the complexity or cost of the activities themselves that make time seem to slow, but the simplicity thereof and the joy brought thereby into the lives of those participating. In those moments, heaven seems closer and rather than distorting time and momentarily forgotten moments of “real” life, priorities regarding what’s of most worth come into view and sharpen. Life is filled with little moments. If we miss those, we miss the essence of living! Life isn’t about accomplishing great feats—it’s about acknowledging the grandeur of ourselves and each other as God’s creations, creating and strengthening great relationships with those wonderful people placed in our lives, and striving to become more Christlike and godly. How? Worry less about the future and make the most of each day, each time-stopping moment granted us by God. And maybe, just maybe, you should keep a camera on hand. Who knows but when a picturesque moment will present itself?
