What Time Zone Are You Living In?

I live in two time zones. Sometimes three, depending on the season and which continent I've landed on. My calendar looks like a small air traffic control tower — Apple Clock has a permanent row of cities pinned to it, Google appointment scheduling saves my brain from all the calculations, and makes it easy for my clients, no matter where they live.  

It's a small, ongoing comedy — the mental gymnastics of living across time zones while still trying to show up fully for the people I love, in their moment, not just mine.

This week, continuing my journey through the books of Samuel, I ran into a different kind of time zone problem. Not geography this time — but one of our focus across history.

In 1 Samuel 12:20–25, the prophet Samuel gives his farewell speech to Israel. He's led them for decades. He's stepping back now. And in this speech, he does something so many of us struggle to do: he tells the truth about the past without letting it become the whole story. "You have done wrong," he says — plainly, without softening it. And then, almost in the same breath: "Only fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart."

No shaming. No pretending it didn't happen. Just — here is what was true, and here is what's true now. Serve Him today, with what you have, where you are.

I think that is one of the kindest and most freeing things a leader, friend, parent, or even a past version of ourselves can say.

Time Travel and the Stories We Tell Ourselves

Here's what I’ve noticed, both in my own heart and in the people I coach: our anxiety rarely comes from the actual present moment. It comes from time travel. We're either replaying something from the past or rehearsing something in the future that hasn't happened yet — and both trips quietly steal the only place we can actually live, which is today.

David Guzik, writing on this passage, said something very impactful... "Satan loves it when we live in the past or the future, when we do anything but serve the Lord with all we have right now."

That's the whole game, isn't it? Keep us anywhere but here. Because the “here” is where our power of choice lives.

But it's not just when we time travel — it's also how we see ourselves once we get there. There's a second layer running underneath: the space between thinking too little of ourselves, and thinking too much. Put the two together, and four familiar rooms appear — see if you recognize any of them:

• Past + thinking too little of yourself — Regret, guilt, shame. The relationship you handled badly, the years you regret as "wasted," the version of yourself you wish you could apologize to.

• Past + thinking too much of yourself — False confidence, romanticizing, misremembering. The "things used to be so much better" story — the one that conveniently forgets how hard those good years actually were. As Les Brown says, “Used-to-be's make no honey.”

• Future + thinking too little of yourself — Fear, uncertainty, avoidance. The dream you keep postponing because some quiet voice says you're not enough for it yet.

• Future + thinking too much of yourself — Unrealistic expectations, pride, self-reliance. The plan that has left no room for surrender or humility - for needing God, or for needing anyone else.

Every one of these rooms feels different, but they all do the same thing: they pull you out of today.

Coming Back to Today

I once heard a saying, "Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday, and all is fine." It was a great reminder to let go of the worry and live for today. Lately, I've also been reminded myself that no matter what tomorrow holds, the Lord is already there, so I don't need to worry. He will either remove the problem or give me the strength to deal with it, while He walks with me into it.

Samuel's words cut through all four rooms with one simple call: serve the Lord today, with all your heart, mind, strength, and soul.

Not the yesterday-you.

Not the someday-you.

The you who is here, now.

Practically, that looks like three small swaps, made new each day:

1. Choosing your identity in Christ, instead of getting lost in self-focus.

2. Choosing reality, instead of the romanticized past or the falsely dreaded future.

3. Choosing trust in God, instead of trying to control outcomes — or the people you love.

You still get to learn from the past. You still get to plan for the future. But you only get to live in the present — so that's where the living should happen.

Reflection for You

• Where do you see yourself in these four rooms — past or future, too little or too much?

• What parts of your past are you still allowing to control your heart today?

Don't let the wounds of the past rob you of the opportunities and insights waiting for you in the present.

Don't let the fear and uncertainty of the future rob you of the joys and lessons available to you right now.

Today is enough. Show up for it.