Recently I was nestled in the Ozark Mountains during a writer’s retreat. It snowed most of the day and I awoke to a beautifully white, frozen world. The snow was pristine in its freshness because no tracks had marred the surface. The lovely white landscape was stunning. And if I had had the foresight to bring snow boots with me, I could have gone outside to play in the snow. But alas, no snow boots. By the afternoon all that lovely snow was fading away, and the moment for playing in the snow was gone.

But I savored that small moment where I glimpsed a serene beauty during the midst of winter. It gave me a sense of peace and contentment and reminded me that God is the best artist there is. But it took little time for the peace of the moment to flee.

I thought to myself, isn’t life like that? We have these beautiful pristine moments that are given to us. If we are lucky enough, we can luxuriate in the moment and bask in the joy it brings. The moment may be shared with someone we love or enjoyed with our children and grandchildren. It may be that we can just sit and breathe and appreciate the beauty around us. Sometimes those moments seem so fleeting and are gone before we even realize their presence. We return to our mundane, frequently hectic world, but we can take the moment out of our memory bank and remember the feeling of peace and joy that it brought.

Frequently we get so caught up in the past or planning the future, that we forget about the present. I am not saying to dismiss the past because it helped mold us into who we are today. Nor I am saying to neglect planning for the future. What I am saying is to live today with an awareness of your surroundings and looking for the little moments to capture in your mind.

My sister’s favorite verse is, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24). She tries to see the positive in everything. And she is remarkably good about capturing special moments on her camera and then making them into a scrapbook!

Capturing fleeting moments can seem magical. So today ask God to help you recognize the fleeting moments that bring special joy to your life. Who knows, it may be one of those special nuggets you store in your memory that brings you wonder all over again each time you think about it!