Be Present

As I sift through my to-do lists, my calendar, and all the things I want to accomplish during this season, something checks my spirit. These words roll around my heart, “Be present.”

I start to argue that I am present, but I know that isn't always true. My mind wanders and my heart longs for future things and I find myself becoming distracted from what God wants for me today. Sometimes it’s not that I’m looking ahead, but rather that I can’t seem to let something go from yesterday. I jump between where I’ve been and where I hope to go, somehow forgetting about where I am. 

 

Perhaps that reminder to pause and be intentional is more needed than I thought and not just at Christmas but in everything. I want to be involved in the little minutes that make up my life instead of always focusing on the milestones. Memorable milestones and achievements are made up of a thousand little moments that we might miss if our focus is singular. And so during this last month, I’ve heard the whisper numerous times and tried to heed the call to participate in that specific conversation or that particular task or that at the moment event.

It’s a great reminder, but it’s also more than that. I think there’s a deeper reason that the Holy Spirit revealed this message to me during this month that is often so busy and filled with festivities and packages and things to do. Hearing those words in this season leads me to believe that maybe the best present isn’t something wrapped in shiny paper and a bow, but rather us being present in the places God has planted us in and being attentive to the people He has placed in our lives. What if the most life-changing thing we have to give this Christmas isn’t something you can find inside a store, but rather something inside yourself?

 

Maybe it’s offering words of forgiveness and healing to someone.

 

Maybe it’s putting your phone down and really listening to the person across from you.

 

Maybe it’s giving your time to serve someone else.

 

Maybe it’s using your words to speak life into someone.

 

Maybe it’s a simple act of kindness that touches a stranger's day.

 

Maybe it’s reaching out to someone lonely and reminding them they are valued.

 

Maybe it’s holding someone’s hand as they walk through something difficult.

 

Maybe it’s infusing hope into a situation that seems impossible.

 

Maybe it’s unceasing prayers on behalf of a hurting soul.

And maybe it’s simply choosing to be available and open to each day. You never know the difference that your attention and presence might make in the life of someone else. And you never know what God may have for you on the other side of being present in your life.

 

Author Robin Jones Gunn says it this way: 

 

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for”. (Sunset Lullaby, 230)

 

To me, that sounds a lot like Be Present. As I mentioned it’s been my word or rather words this Christmas. I think it could be a word for you too.  A message to savor the moment. To show up. To focus. Perhaps it’s a reminder not to always be looking to tomorrow or hoping for someday, but rather to cherish this day. Maybe it’s permission to let go of yesterday and what-ifs and move fully into today with no hindrances. And possibly it’s an opportunity to ask what God might be trying to show you in your current situation or place. Don’t miss a divinely appointed assignment because you aren’t paying attention to God’s promptings. God modeled this when He gave us the gift of His presence on a starry night in Bethlehem when He came close. May we do the same.

 

Merry Christmas 2021!

-Only Hope