This is the time of year when we see "The Year in Review"articles in various magazines. It is also a time when we contemplate the future. Perhaps decisions we made in the recent past will fuel change for the future. What can get lost is the present.
As I get to know myself better, I see a tendency, no matter what the time of year, to look back and look ahead. I do both. A lot. Are you like this?
This causes me to miss out on the present. The present is all we really have. It is, I am learning, a gift. God redeems the past and gives hope for the future, but He is present, very present, in the present. I sensed an invitation from the Holy Spirit. It went something like this: Do you see yourself looking back and looking ahead? These are not bad things. There's no shame in this. It's just that you do it so much, you are missing out on a lot of what I am doing right now. Would you like to learn to be present to the present?
YES! That's what I want. In order to be present to the present I need to pay attention. I'm not good at that. I'm distracted by the white noise of life. I need more quiet in my life. Less conversation. Perhaps even less information. Maybe what I need is more sitting. In silence.
How about you?