It's the most wonderful time of the year... already?

I can't believe that it is already time to start prepping for the holidays. Mike and I went on our first shopping trip, and couldn't believe the number of people who were out with the same mission. Time is flying by so quickly. I started this semester thinking that I had all of the time in the world to get everything done, and here we are in November, and there is still so much left to be done. 


It is just a matter of weeks before another semester is behind me, and I am preparing to submit the final draft of my dissertation and walk across the stage to get my diploma. It is just a matter of time until Mike and I are packing up our belongings once again as we prepare to move to a location that is still unknown. I can't believe how quickly the past four years at Virginia have gone, and how as we get closer to the end of our time year the clock seems to be ticking even faster. 


There are days when I can't wait to be done with it all. I am sick of homework, job applications, and the unknowns that the future holds. I want to know where I am going to be living, where I am going to be working; I am ready to be established. But I am also realizing how important it is to live in the moment, and to cherish the present. I need to be careful not to wish my life away. 


For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,
A time for war, and a time for peace.
- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8