Being Present in the Moment

Life sometimes throws us difficult situations, often seemingly out of nowhere. These situations can feel like we’ve caught a hospital pass on the football field and then been forcefully tackled to the ground. As we are left reeling from the impact, we can become overwhelmed by our thoughts and emotions. Trying to cope with these can often be more difficult than the situation itself as they hinder our ability to be present in the moment, impacting our judgement and capacity to live out our values.

When my daughter was two-years old we had to take her to the emergency department because of an accident at home. Her right pinkie finger got slammed between two doors and was very badly crushed. Initially it was horrific to look at and in the stress all we could think of was to go straight to the hospital. Thankfully as we were preparing to leave for the hospital, it began to resemble a finger once more. In the seven hours it took to find out that her finger was okay and there was no fracture, my wife and I wrestled with many thoughts and emotions.

Outside of the thought "Is her finger going to recover?" there was also "Where is the doctor and when will we get out of here?" In our hearts we were feeling anxiety, worry, concern and a sense of uncertainty. This was in large part because our minds were great at generating questions, but no one could provide us with the answers.

Often in difficult situations our minds are amazing at providing us with unanswerable questions. We need to be careful how far we let these unanswerable questions lead us, otherwise we can find ourselves down the path of catastrophizing, overthinking, and with overwhelming emotions. Neither of which help us to manage our situation. We then find ourselves with a challenging situation, overwhelming thoughts and emotions, and a need to find our favourite outlet to escape it all. This can include anything from doom scrolling, to online shopping, gaming, and food to name a few.

This verse warns us to be careful how we walk through life. God wants us to live in the moment, not internalise the moment. We know we have internalised a moment when we’ve begun to wrestle with it. We begin to ask the unanswerable questions, predict and worry about the unwanted futures, judge and label those around us, and seek to escape unwanted thoughts and emotions.

God wants us to be present in the moment with Him, because when we are, we can begin seizing the opportunities around us. Opportunities to increase our awareness of His presence, of ourselves and of our thoughts and emotions, and of those around us and their needs. When we live in the moment, we can be steadfast in all our ways living out our values, being assertive, and being present with others.

God provides us with so many opportunities to be enjoyed, but we miss them when we internalise the moment instead of being present in the moment.

When we were in the emergency department with my daughter, my wife had to go to the cafeteria. This forced me to stop internalising my moment, and to be present in the moment with my daughter. As my wife left, I decided to play peek-a-boo with my daughter. She smiled every time I did, and after a minute when I stopped, she would say just one word: "more", and then I would keep going. When I stopped again, she would say ‘more’. It's an experience that may have lasted only a few minutes, but it’s a memory I will cherish forever.

Cherished moments and memories are created by being present in the moment and seizing the opportunities presented to us.

Whenever we think we have internalised a situation, we need to ask ourselves and God a simple question, “Am I present in this moment, or is the moment in me?” In the action section below is an exercise we can all do to help us increase our awareness and be present in the moment.

Being present in the moment is a skill that takes time and practice to develop. It is a skill best practiced when we are not overwhelmed by a situation or our thoughts and emotions. Then when we are, it will be far easier for us to be present in the moment and seize the opportunities that God has laid out before us.

Reflection

What activities throughout your day can you practice being present in the moment? Perhaps it’s brushing your teeth and actively noticing each movement. Or it could be while you are driving, noticing yourself behind the wheel, taking in each of the road signs, or making note of the colour of the cars around you. Our lives are filled with opportunities to practice being present in the moment. Which ones will you choose?

Prayer

Father God, help me to be present in the moment, so that I can experience everything that You have for me in any given moment. Help me to recognise when I’m internalising the moment and to find my way back into Your presence.

Affirmation

God is present and walking with me through every situation.

Action

In a previous devotional, we looked at three statements that we can all say to help us reconnect with God’s presence:

·       I am having the thought/feeling of…

·       I am noticing myself having the thought/feeling of…

·       God is present with me as I notice myself having the thought/feeling of…

In addition to acknowledging that God is present with us as we notice ourselves having a particular thought or feeling, there is something else we can incorporate that helps us to become present in the moment.

As we have taken the time to slowly say each statement, we can notice the position of our body, our breathing, our heart rate, and the tension in our muscles. As we do, it helps to take a few moments to sense ourselves, where we are and how God is present with us.

Then we can take a few moments to sense where we are in our environment. Noticing the sounds, the smells, the colours, and the light. It is important to use our senses to notice as much as we can about our environment. It sometimes helps to repeat this a couple of times and be sure not to rush it. Often the slower we do this, the more benefit we receive.

After doing this take the time to notice how less engaged with your thoughts and feelings you have become. How the moment or situation you were wrestling with seems less internalised, less intense, and instead you have become more present in the moment and aware of God’s presence.

The more we do this, the easier it becomes to stop internalising the moment and to be present with it instead.