In All Things

"BE PRESENT.... Her favorite moments were those when she let go of all expectations and worries and just simply celebrated the very moment she was living. In those precious moments she was truly present and listening to Grace."

Be Present.  I find myself checking out a lot here lately.  I retreat to go read a book, I bury myself into my laptop to work, I rush around cleaning up the house and doing laundry.  In other words… I’m not always present even though my physical body might be visible.  But, that’s not where I need to be.  I need to be present in all forms…in the now…. with my family… with my husband…with my friends…living life and having fellowship and connection with one another.

Raising kids is hard and I’m not going to lie, the older they get, the harder it gets.  I used to think “oh I can’t wait till they are older because it will be so much easier.” WRONG!  It’s so much more complicated than giving them a juice box, goldfish and a Veggie Tales movie to watch for 30 minutes or a bandaid to cover up the boo-boo.  I am shaping them into adulthood, teaching them to grow up and make life decisions.  Fashioning these little lives to know how to face the challenges of life and do so with the perspective that God calls us to.  That’s pretty gigantic when you really think about it. 
Be present.  When I am “here” my problem with being in the present is that I want perfection.  This leads me to being stressed out a lot when things don’t go as I planned.  Meaning…. “I’ve already asked you to clean that mess up in your room.  Why is it still laying there?” Even though I’m raising these kids to be adults, they are definitely not yet adults.  I need to remember they are not going to react in an adult manner or think in one either. 

Be Present.  Let go of expectations.  This doesn't mean my kids don’t have to listen or do as I ask, or that I should let laundry pile to the ceiling and dishes scatter over the counter, or that I should just work when I want to.  I still am required to parent my children, be a wife, structure my home, and run my business…it just means that I need to simmer down.  My problem is, when I want something done, I want it now.  Not 30 minutes later… not this afternoon…not tomorrow… Now.  Most of the time, it’s not something that is really required NOW, I just think it is.   Learn the balance in things and don’t get so uptight if it isn't happening now.

Let go.  Be present.  Live in the moment.  Teachable moments.  Moments to reach out and love the ones you are with.  God gives me grace day in and day out.  Lord, let me show grace to my family and love them like my Father loves me.