We sit in meetings and check our
watches, our tweets, our texts, our calendar app, our to-do list. At home we feel guilty for not being on the
job; on the job we feel guilty for not being at home. (Or for the stay-at-home mom, we feel guilty
for being enslaved by the to-do list rather than playing with the
children. When you relinquish it to play
in the yard, you feel tugged away by all the demands inside.) During supper we think about the clean up,
the night-time routine, the exhaustion, the things to do before crashing. During breakfast we worry about getting to
the next thing on time . . . How often we miss the joy of simple
conversation and laughter during supper, miss the chance to sing crazy songs in
the car-ride, miss a moment God was trying to teach us something during that
meeting, miss the chance to show that person Jesus.
It was on the car ride after a
hectic morning routine of waking the girls, feeding, clothing, brushing teeth,
hurrying into the car, that it hit me – maybe not hit me for the first time but
hit me harder . . .
A friend in my church family went to
Africa this summer and encountered a
missionary who gave her this one line:
“Wherever you are, be all there.”
She brought the line back to me.
Much more succinct than I’ve ever said it, but I’ve been thinking it
over for about six years now . . . “How can I be fully present where I am at
all times?”
Jesus lived it. On a mission, with purpose, often surrounded
by crowds, but never in a hurry.
What hit me in the car was
this: “What if I only had one more month
to live, but I still had to do all of my daily responsibilities (full-time mom,
part-time ministry job) within that month?
What would I do differently than what I’m doing right now?” Certainly, I wouldn’t want my girls
remembering a mother who just rushed them out of bed, to breakfast, to car, to
drop them off—all in one hurried blur.
If I still had to go to work and my elder child still had to go to her
“school” (home school program 2 days a week)—in other words, if I still had to
be away from them for several hours several days a week—with what would I want
to leave in their precious little memories. I would want them to remember
a mother who woke them with a smile, who had kindness on her lips, who cooked
them a yummy breakfast, and who encouraged them even if their bodies were still
sleepy and minds foggy. Love – that’s
what I want them to remember.
Practically
speaking, then, how can I be fully present where I am at all times? I haven’t mastered it yet, but here’s what I’m
aiming for:
- Slowing down where I can. How?
-
Being realistic about what I can accomplish in a given
period of time. (Of course, this is my
hardest one. I’m forever the optimist.)
-
Not being too proud to receive help. (God doesn’t call us to do family or ministry
alone. In fact, that’s the opposite of
what God wants for us.)
-
Not being too proud to say “no” when I can’t do it all. (Yes, for people-pleasers and performers, it’s
a pride issue.)
- Paying
attention to the blessings in the moment.
(Learned this one from Ann Voskamp’s book One Thousand Gifts.
LOVE her blog too; she writes about this slowing down often.) Naming
the gifts. (I’m on #899 – writing down
thanks to God.)
- Praying for spiritual eyes to see what’s most important—the one thing needed.
-
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “You are worried
and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.
Mary has chosen what is better,
and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42 NIV).
I have so far to go. Tell me, how do you live this line – “Wherever
you are, be all there”? Don’t be
shy. Leave a comment for those of us who
need it!
