awareness

Early this year, the Children's Ministry at Living Word held a conference for those who work with children. (Thank goodness others can attend as well!) The pre-con seminar was a retreat day lead by Pete Gannaway. One of the cool things (one of many) was the book that Pete recommended for us all to read. It’s called The Rest of God: Restoring your Soul by Restoring Sabbath by Mark Buchanan. I want to share a passage from that book that moved me:


“Waiting implies anticipation of something else; that this moment is not the moment. It implies that the expected thing, the hoped-for thing, is yet to arrive, that the present is only preliminary to the future.”

When I read this, I was stopped in my tracks. This is me! It seems I am always waiting. I am waiting to wear my bathing suit until I lose a few more pounds, waiting to have people over for dinner until I clean the house, waiting to pursue my hobbies until I have more time. Most recently, I find myself waiting for my daughter’s baby to be born. The baby isn’t due until August, so I am waiting. I realized, after reading this quote, that I am missing being fully present in this day because I am focused on the future. How much have I missed because I am not aware of what is right in front of me? When I look to the future, I cannot see clearly. It rarely turns out the way I think it will. But I do have the chance to see what is right in front of me, what is happening right here, right now.

I started asking God to help me stay in this day, in this hour, in this moment.

Think about asking God, today, to help you keep focused on the now…not in the future, not in the past, but in the present, because the present is more than enough.

Peace,
Deb