The present. How did “this moment in time” get that name? Could it be that God intended it to be just that? A gift? I have been thinking of this a lot lately. And I think it is just as it sounds, a present. However, this present isn’t wrapped in fancy wrapping paper and gold bows. This present is wrapped in a bunch of tiny little seemingly insignificant moments. But I think in today’s world we are so distracted by other things we miss opening this gift altogether.
What if we could change that? What if we sometimes walked with our shoes off? What would that feel like? Would I focus on my feet getting dirty? Would I think about how the mud would get tracked into my house causing me to have to clean it yet again? Or would I really feel the ground? Allow the mud to squish between my toes, feel the cooling effect of the mud. Could it actually be fun?
Bob Marley once said, “Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.” Do I feel the rain or am I one of those just getting wet? I watch my one-year-old daughter sometimes just feel things for the first time. I watch her find God’s gifts like little packages left lying on the road in front of her. I think having my third baby at close to 40 years old, I realize the gift in the “present” moment. I sometimes just sit and watch her. I know this “present” moment with her will be gone before I know it. She is my last, and so I allow myself the luxury of just sitting, watching, and savoring. When the wind blows, and her hair starts to move, and the trees start to make a slight crunching sound as they move in the wind, she stops in awe. She is absolutely mesmerized by the effects of the wind. She looks at me as if to say, “Can you see it Mommy? What is it? It is so magical!” For a quick moment I try to see it through her eyes. In the moment. It is pretty amazing. How many times have I seen this, and not really noticed?
She is walking, as new walkers do, studying everything that crosses her path. And then she spots something she has not seen before. A muddy puddle. I wanted to shout, “No!” But I didn’t. First, she jumped around in it, and it wasn’t long before she was splashing, sitting, and even taking a little sip. She was overcome with delight. I know first-time moms are gagging at this right now, but I know…she sees the “present.” I know I would not have seen it without her.
What if I tried to see the world like she does? Every day could be delightful. What if I stopped to feel things? What if I could find joy and praise him for my struggles? Oh, what a present that would be.