YOU HAVE TO BE PRESENT TO WIN:

A MINISTRY OF PRESENCE

 

 Every morning I receive and read an email devotion from the Henri Nouwen Society featuring a small piece from the writings of the beloved twentieth century spiritual guide. Years ago this became a part of my daily quiet time. The other day the topic of the reading was “Living the Moment to the Fullest.” In this he connects the virtue of Patience with the spiritual practice of living in the present moment:

 

“Patience is a hard discipline. It is not just waiting until something happens over which we have no control: the arrival of the bus, the end of the rain, the return of a friend, the resolution of a conflict. Patience is not a waiting passivity until someone else does something. Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest, to be completely present to the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are. When we are impatient we try to get away from where we are. We behave as if the real thing will happen tomorrow, later and somewhere else. Let's be patient and trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand.”

 
We miss so many opportunities and blessings in life because we spend so much time being in some other time (past or future) or some other place (other than where we are).  “The sacrament of the present moment” is a term we learn from the 18th century spiritual classic Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean-Pierre de Caussade. He believed that the present moment is itself a sacrament or means of grace, and that the best way to find God was to find God in the present moment. Indeed, he maintained that you are not likely to find God anywhere else! The present moment is where God is, present tense.

One of the most meaningful ways we can be in ministry to others is to simply discipline ourselves to actually be present to others. Like the old saying goes, you have to be present to win!

Yours in Christ,

Dr. Bill   >)))’>