On the art of being present

God has been teaching me a lot about being in the moment lately. I am one who loves to think ahead and envision big thoughts, and I like to think that I reflect on my past to glean in the fields of wisdom and knowledge that the past bring. Both of these add value and depth to our lives not just as Christians, but as humans. However, so often I loose what is in the moment for that which I am thinking about my future.

Jacob and I watched After Earth last night. While the movie was mediocre, there is a message that resonates throughout the movie. The message is "be in the moment". In the movie (small plot line spoiler), aliens attack humans. They are attracted only to one thing, the pheromone they secrete when they are in fear. Without it, the monsters cannot see their prey (you). The way to avoid being seen is to calm your fear. The way you calm your fear is to work on being in the present moment. To be in the flow around you, to rest in the moment and be fully and completely engaged in that moment only. I think this is a valuable lesson for us today.

“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today." Matt 6:34 (NRSV)

Fear, fear of the past, fear of the future; clouds our ability to be in the flow of The Holy Spirit in our day to day lives. We get bound up with what if and how come and could it be. Instead we need to cultivate the moment we are inhabiting and be present for everyone we meet, and be listening and discerning for the voice of God in our day to day. God is everywhere, and He is always speaking, it is only up to us to listen.

Two different times over the last month my family and I have gone to the local YMCA to go swimming. We love our time in the water together. It ends up just being a little swimming and a lot of play. Exercise and play together? Count me in. But these two times we entered the water there has been a young man named Gabriel playing basketball in the water by himself. He is in the 5th grade, and he believes that he can do the N.B.A. a service by growing up and playing for them. The problem is, he is always alone.

Both times he has been there, God has given me a little nudge to just spend a few minutes with him. All I do it throw the ball at the net, and let him block it. He always exclaims "Not in my house" as he relishes his victory by blocking my shot. He genuinely enjoys it. It is apparent to me that Gabriel does not have much, if any, fatherly affection in his life. All I have to do is spend a few minutes with him and tell him how cool he is for blocking my shots. Words of affirmation spoken in the moment can yield eternal rewards.

I do not know Gabriel's story, I may see him again, I may not. But I do know that if I was burdening my mind with forethought and fear of tomorrow, I would have missed the opportunity to speak into the life of an affirmation hungry young man.

"This is the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24) NRSV

My challenge is to live in the moment, the flow as it were, and rejoice. Tomorrow is not guaranteed, the past is prone to poor memory and all we have is the now. God who was faithful in the past is faithful now, and odds are he will be in the future as well. Rest and rejoice...