Be Present

As I begin this New Year, I can’t help but laugh at the whirlwind the past year has been for me. I spent many months of 2011 raising support, planning, and preparing for a year long trip investing my heart in the Lord. I was scheduled to be traveling alongside a choir of 24 Kenyan children that would be coming to the United States with one mission—to serve our ultimate Father through worship. Their hearts are a vision of purity, confidence, and child-like devotion that so many Christians long for, that I continue to strive for each day.

This trip, that I had so meticulously planned, came to an end after the children’s visas were denied. I came to realize how I had exerted so much energy making the tour fit so perfectly into my plans and yet I had not stopped to grasp something so comforting and relieving to “planners” like myself—the Lord has already created my life plan, it’s not my job to reinvent the wheel. The time I was able to spend with the choir was exactly the scheduled time He had laid out to teach me the beauty He reveals in a period of restful waiting.

I know myself well enough to realize I am always looking for what’s next…..where can I go, what can I do? I’m writing this as a reminder to myself and hopefully to someone else that this year I hope to slow down and be present. As followers of Christ we are so very blessed to live a life in awe of the splendor and beauty He created. Why would we rather get caught up in earthly stress than to enjoy this free gift? I had the opportunity to be present in what the Lord was teaching me through so much change last year and my hope is to do the same in 2012—to stop looking ahead and bask in the time He’s blessed me with right now. Don’t miss what you could be learning around you because you’re so busy trying to plan the future path that has already been laid.

One of my favorite scriptures I’ve focused on over the years is Deuteronomy 33:27, “The eternal God is a dwelling place and underneath are the everlasting arms.” I find such comfort in knowing God is a dwelling place, I live in Him and He lives in me. A dwelling—a home—four walls and a roof around me as protection offered by my Heavenly Father. What’s better? The floor never falls out from under you; His palms are continually under you no matter how low you drop! This is assurance to me, and hopefully you, I have no reason to miss out on the peace and comfort He has to offer—shed away the continual distractions and focus on being present in every moment.

Anna Eidson, Administrative Coordinator