Enjoy Each Moment

By Jeff Becraft

There is a simple principle that can have a profound effect on each of us — enjoy each moment.

Years ago, the Becraft van was heading out to boogah cheetah in the middle of the Ozarks in Arkansas. In the van were myself, our son Josiah, daughters Corrie and Hannah, and Josiah’s best friend Sam.

The goal was to get to a camp (a camp I have talked about before for children’s home kids). But there are a lot of miles and a lot of hours between Columbia and boogah cheetah.

Also in the van was a miniature soccer ball.  At every stop, it didn’t matter if it was at a rest area to hit the bathhouse or stopping to get gas or getting something to eat, before we could get back in the van we would pop open the back hatch. Out would come the miniature soccer ball. We would have to kick the soccer ball into the back of the van and it would have to stay there… no ricocheting out.

Now, this was no have-someone-stand-by-the-back-of-the-van and someone else roll the ball to them and they just flip it in with their toe. What kind of challenge is that?  No… this was World Cup all the way. It was running around at full speed and drilling the ball at the back of the van with all you had.  And if someone missed (which happened a lot), someone else had to go sprinting after the ball and on the fly try to kick a side-winder return shot to put the ball back into an area where someone could take a shot.

Most stops, it would take between 5-10 minutes. One stop was a quick 60 seconds. Once someone got it in the car, then we would all jump back in the vehicle and keep rolling down the road.

Even though it is now years later, every single person on that trip could tell you about those moments… and other moments associated with that trip.

There is a joy in the journey. Don’t miss the adventure along the way. Sometimes we can isolate the end goal and simply focus on that and miss out on each step that contains its own moments.

So if you are traveling this weekend (or not), embrace each moment.  It is worth enjoying.

Jeff Becraft is the Executive Director for Youth Corps and has dedicated much of his life to helping shift the vision of people’s lives.  Youth Corps is a life-changing leadership development experience that inspires high school students to be leaders in the Midlands and beyond. You can connect with Jeff at [email protected].