Presence

“Some people came into my room and rushed in and rushed out and even when they were there they were not there….

Some people who came in just for a moment were all there”

Ann Morrow Lindbergh, Bring me a Unicorn, 1993

Sometimes I just want people to listen. To listen to the jumble of words I am saying. To stop, look me in the eye, be present with me. I may not be speaking deep, profound truths, just what has happened in my day. But, to me, that is profound.

Often we half listening, waiting for the moment to interject with my news. Our gaze wanders, we think of checking a phone, we nod blankly, not having really heard. We are not really present with the person, and we miss what they are really trying to say.

How do I spend time with God? Is it a rush into His presence with a list, one eye on the clock, ready to rush out again to the next thing?

“What if the hour you spend (in prayer) is when you refocus on Jesus so that you carry His presence with you into the other twenty three hours of the day with a heightened awareness that He is with you…”

Brennan Manning, Franciscan Priest in How to Pray, by Pete Greig (2019).

There is a place for asking. I’m focusing on just sitting with Him. Turning my face to His. Tuning my ear to Him. Being present…in His Presence.