Present Moment

Yesterday I was blessed to spend some time with a close friend, and her two daughters. We took her five year old and ten month old to an indoor playground. Being that my sons are now adults, and I don’t have grandchildren yet, I had never seen a place quite  like this.

It was wonderful watching the children play, and interacting with them. This child’s wonderland was filled with children having loads of fun and most of their parents enjoying their time together. All in all, it was a joy filled time!

There was one little scene between a young father and daughter that saddened me. I am sharing it because in this day and age we are all that father at one time or another. We all miss important, everyday moments.

The little girl was about three years old. She was so cute, dressed in her little sundress, and her brown hair was a little tousled from playing. She was rocking on a little toy horse, and her face was glowing. Her father was standing directly in front of her, and she was beaming at him. Her smile was pure and contagious, and she did not take her eyes off of her daddy the whole time she was rocking. She wanted to share her joy with him.

He never saw her…he was engrossed in his cell phone and never looked up at her. My heart broke in that little minute.

How many minutes, how many opportunities to love and grow in our relationships do we miss each day because we are not living in the moment? How long will we allow ourselves to be lured away from real life by our electronics or entertainment?

This encounter yesterday reminded me of something that happened many years ago between my father and me.

I was probably around seven or eight years old I think. My father was reading his newspaper, and I was lying on my stomach on the living room floor, reading the Sunday comics. My father meant the world to me, and I was chatting happily with him. When I was speaking, I looked up at him while he was answering, “uh huh”…I realized that his attention was on the newspaper and he was just saying “uh huh” every now and then even though he really didn’t know what I was saying. With my young mind I comprehended what was happening, and felt embarrassed and sad.

Funny, how I still remember that.

So, let’s focus on each moment and the precious people that the Lord places in our lives. There are hearts and minds in need of the love, acceptance, and affirmation that only we can give them.

And when we truly learn to live as blessings in the present moment, loving the Lord and his children, we will also be blessed abundantly in our own hearts and spirits.

 

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Opportunities to Share God’s Love

This past weekend, my husband and I enjoyed some special time with my son, Joe, and his wife, Melissa.  They are in the process of moving to the west coast, so we were having some in-depth discussions about how the Lord is leading them.

After sharing a recent “God inspired” experience I had in a grocery store, my son wanted to share an experience he had.  As he started talking about it, his eyes filled and we could all feel his heart.  Here is Joe’s story:

He was grocery shopping as usual…up and down the aisles and very much in a hurry.  He was totally preoccupied with the swirl of activity and tasks that needed to be done.

An elderly woman came up to him, and said that she was from the homeless shelter and she wondered if he could help out.  She said “Please don’t be mad  that I am asking.”

Joe is the type of person that would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need.  However, in this case, with his mind on other things, he let her know he was not mad, but did not have cash with him.  She went on her way.

As soon as she walked away, he realized what he had done.  She was in need, and he could have paid for her groceries with his check card…he picked up a few more items he needed, and then looked for her in every aisle.  He could not find her.

Immediately, he started to pray.  “Lord, I know that you sent this woman to me, and I failed.  I didn’t help her in her need and give as Jesus would have.    Please, send someone else to me that is in need, and I promise that I will not let you down again.”

The next stop was the gas station.  As he was filling his tank, an SUV pulled in.  A man, that looked a little disheveled and exasperated, jumped out of his car, and walked over to Joe.  He asked if Joe could help him…even with just one gallon of gas so he could get down the road.  He shared that he has a large family and they recently decided to purchase the SUV so they can travel around comfortably.  Then he lost his job….and now he can’t even afford to put gas in it.  He was a broken man.

Joe told him to pull his vehicle over to the pump and filled it for him.  The man could hardly believe what was happening, especially with the price of gas being what it is.

Joe asked if he knows the Lord, and asked if he could pray with him…

After hearing Joe’s story, you could have heard a pin drop.  Our hearts were filled with the wonder of God’s love and grace.

So many opportunities are placed in each of our lives every day.  Many times we stop and give of ourselves and share Christ’s love, and many times those opportunities to love slip through our hands.

May we always have the humility to ask the Lord for forgiveness in the times we do not give of ourselves fully, and ask for new opportunities to share our love, gifts, and blessings with those He places on our path every day.

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.  1 John 4:8

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.  1 Corinthians 13:13

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.   John 3:16

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