At this half-way point of the year (where has it gone?!?), I do not recall what it was that drew me to this word. But I think in living it, it has become real.

Etymonline provides some history on words. It says of ‘present’, my word of 2023:

c. 1200, "thing offered, what is offered or given as a gift,"

c. 1300, "being in the same place as someone or something." Meaning "abiding in a specified place" is from mid-14c. in English.

I especially like the idea of ‘abiding in a specified place’ and I would add ‘a specified time/now’. This is what I am most struck by today.

Living in the present

My family is moving next month, and this word PRESENT has highlighted to me that I need to live in the now, and not in the future. I have no idea what the future will look like, or what it will hold. I know that I will be in another country, Ethiopia. We are returning to Africa.

So, I have been very deliberate in my actions and thoughts – I am living here and now. I am trying to carry out my responsibilities, to finish well, to love others well. And I find that I am celebrating, I am enjoying this life, the people that have become friends. I am shoving off the unknown and living in the known – or the experience of what is happening now.

Present living as a gift

Living in the now has indeed been a present to me. It has kept me from worrying or making lists and being concerned about things that have been too far away in time to do anything about. As Matthew 6:34 says, ‘Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’ I do find that there is enough trouble, to-do lists, book work, family care, and more in one day. Worrying about the next will not help me focus in the now.

Living in the present has meant that I can better focus on today. On the people. On the work. On the walk.

Living in the present, planning for tomorrow

Admittedly, as the actual move date comes closer, I do have to add packing and cleaning out activities to my to-do list. But I will still be in the present and actively seeking the now. Learning to live in the present does not mean that no plans are made, but that those plans are entrusted to the Lord and do not encroach on my peace. If it does, as it has several times in these recent couple of months, I will again focus on today. For we know that God is guiding, ‘In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps,’ Proverbs 16:9).