The Future is Now!

There is no doubt in my mind that my diligently, dedicated followers have wondered when the next blog post would go live. Those who know me personally are even more surprised because they know a new phase of my life has begun. I think the reason I've had a hard time writing a blog has been that I'm still trying to absorb the fact that the things I only saw as my future are happening right now.

We have all said “Someday,” “In the (not-so-distant) future,” or “One of these days” but I say, “Today”. The future is now and what we do today affects tomorrow.

Tomorrow… It’s such an interesting word. It is referenced in scripture, songs, books, and more. The concept of a better tomorrow has birthed our greatest inventors and leaders. They believed this notion was just within reach and with one more experiment, one more speech, one more level we will have achieved greatness.

Time and time again they look at the present and believe it is not good enough. This would be okay if we were simply talking about the world as a whole versus the tomorrow of eternity. Sadly, our tomorrows are trapped in this world and fail to see beyond the stratosphere into a realm we cannot invent with our hands or paint with our words.

Scripture warns we are not promised tomorrow, nor should we worry about tomorrow. In our culture, those are two very hard concepts to comprehend. In my college world, I am trained in nothing less than worrying about my future. I submit, we are looking at it all wrong. It is not about worrying for tomorrow or guaranteeing a tomorrow, it is about preparing today as it as if tomorrow has already come.

One day, when my dad was picking me up from elementary school, he asked me, (as he did every time) “What did you do in school today?” My traditional answer would have been, “nothing” or “I don’t know,” but that day was different. I turned to him and said “Do you realize that tomorrow never comes?” Obviously taken aback by my complete disregard of his question, he replied, “Yes, because, by the time he gets here, it's today.”

If you're waiting on tomorrow, you're going to be waiting for a long time. If you are procrastinating following God’s will for your life because you think tomorrow will have a better solution, your running out of time. There is a very real “today” that you have to conquer.

It has always been my belief, to work hard today for a brighter future. My family has not only taught me this principle, but lived this principle. You can't wait for someone else to do it for you and you can't put things off and expect it'll turn out alright. Sometimes, it takes a step of faith (or a leap of faith) to put in the ground work, when you’re not sure what the outcome will be.

I had a management teacher who called it “front-loading.” Put the work in now, while there's not a lot of pressure, and when it gets close to the end, (e.g. midterm exam tomorrow, work deadline, etc.) you've already relieved yourself of the stress.

However, preparing for a better future now isn't easy. In fact, it takes a conscious effort to work with pressure and not avoid it. A colleague and fellow student introduced me to the Overload Principle, which states: “In order for a muscle to grow, strength to be gained, performance to increase, or for any similar improvement to occur, the human body must be forced to adapt to a tension that is above and beyond what it has previously experienced.”

I am grateful for the process and training the Texas District UPCI Board required before I was considered for ministerial license. Making it to the board room last Tuesday was something I filed away as the future. There were times I let my fear, doubt, and insecurities hinder me from wholeheartedly pursuing the calling God placed on my life. Yet, when I focused on the “today” handed to me, by a merciful God, I began to prepare. By the time February 23, 2016 came around, I was walking in the future I had worried would never come.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I was terrified. I can honestly say, I have never been as nervous before an interview as I was that afternoon. Here, I was the only woman meeting the board for license, one of only two single individuals in the room, and feeling more outnumbered and under-qualified by the second.

Before this board had come some of the greatest ministers in our movement, including my father and grandfather. At that moment, past, present, and future locked grip so tightly I could barely breathe. Even now, I think back and ask myself if it was just a dream.

My anxiety fell at my feet with the first question: “Where do you see yourself in the FUTURE?” I had prepared for that answer years ago. I had already pleaded with God to order my steps and guide my path. I had already waged war with the devil over my future and let Him know, “As for me and my house, we will serve The Lord”

When I walked into the board room for the third and final time of the day, my fellow applicants and I heard, Congratulations, you have been approved for license. I knew in that moment, as I entered the next phase of my ministry: The Future is Now!

Signed,

Reverend Brittney Diamond Dool