Present- without hearing it spoken, it's hard to know which word we're to address. Present can mean a gift... it can also mean this present time, the time we are in now. Or it could mean present, as in giving someone something or laying it out for them... "To present my body a living sacrifice."
I guess that's why these days are so good, because everyone has their own take on the word and depending on our cirumstance, we will automatically lean toward one interpretation.
Mine is present-tense. See, this morning God has me in a waiting zone, which I detest. Let's just be real. Patience may be a virtue, but it is not easily one of mine. And I won't pray for more patience,, because I've always been told that He'll give you more, but it is a trial by fire and I'm just not up to being roasted today.
Wait on the Lord, we are told. Wait and we will recieve new strength. Waiting in the present tense means not worrying about what happened yesterday, because try as we might we can't change it, we can only improve on it. And it also means not worrying about tomorrow, or what may happen in the next couple of hours. Waiting on the Lord means giving Him your present time, the time that you have right now, and appreciating it
So I'm sitting on my front porch in the bright sunlight with my feet propped up on the banister. The wind is blowing through my messy hair, and the windchimes hanging over my head are serenading me. The birds are chirping and the trees are singing (yes, singing... it's like a chorus as the wind makes its way through their leaves.)
Living in the present isn't so bad. After all, it's only this very breath that I have promised, anyway... and His grace is sufficient to get me through the waiting.
I hate waiting as well! This was a beautiful picture of how you're going to "deal" and stay present despite the worries that tend to come with waiting. Thanks for sharing this little vignette into your day! (FMF)
ReplyDeleteSweet post.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Thank you for sharing. I am learning more than ever before to be present in each day with God. Experiencing what He has blessed me to experience and being present with expectancy as he shows me extraordinary in the way that only He can do. :)
ReplyDeleteA while back I shared something along these lines.(A post called "Daily Joy" on my blog) I copied and pasted an excerpt below... I thought you may also appreciate it. God bless!
Be present in each season of life God has given me. Be present with God. Walk with the Almighty step by step through each day. Enjoy the people. Enjoy the process.
[Priscilla Shirer's "Resolution for Women"]
“For each season of life, soak in it, relish it, cherish it, celebrate it, appreciate it for what it is. Each season of life is populated with all the things, people, events, relationships, and milestones that would make a once-in-a-lifetime experience– my only chance to fully be the person I’d be at this age and in this season. Only for the coming year would my husband be exactly like this. Only for these fleeting moments would my children talk, look, and act exactly like this. And if I choose to hurry through them in an attempt to avoid the parts I didn’t like, I’d simultaneously miss all the things I’d like about the season.
I recognized that by rushing through life (constantly trying to reach the “next better” thing/ circumstance), I’d be subtly devaluing those around me and the experiences I was involved in, not appreciating the importance and significance they bring to my life and the lives of others at this very moment, not grasping my responsibility for holding dear and treating well these gifts God has entrusted to me… Always looking toward the next moment, the next month, the next event, rarely allowing myself the privilege of fully participating and embracing the happenings that were right before me that day.
[Pg. 17] Today, “happiness” says there is always something else, something more, some additional requirement we need before we can really enjoy life the way it was meant to be enjoyed.
… The fallout to this is inevitable. Fed by such a steady diet of unclaimed desires, we can hardly help but develop a level of disdain for our current circumstances.”
I Timothy 6:6 (HCSB)
“But godliness with contentment is a great gain (is itself a great wealth NLT) /[Italics mine]
The amplified version writes it as:
“[And it is indeed, a source of immense profit, for] godliness accompanied with contentment (that contentment which is a source of inward sufficiency) is great and abundant gain.”
Thank you for sharing. I read that book last year and loved it... but how easy we forget.
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