On Being Present

 

I recently helped a friend tackle a monumental task.

Though I spent all day at my friend’s house,

Sorting, cleaning, eating, talking, hanging stuff, and moving stuff,

When I left that evening, I honestly didn’t feel that I had done much to help.

There was so much we didn’t get done and so much left to do.

 

Fast-forward a couple weeks and my friend is still working on her monumental task.

Here’s the deal, though.

She told me that if I hadn’t gone to help her a couple of weeks ago, then she would still be stuck trying to get started.

What seemed like an insignificant amount of work to me was actually very significant to her.

What seemed small was actually large.

 

Used to, my biggest goal in life was to make a difference.

I wanted to change the world.

I would often get discouraged, feeling as if I wasn’t doing enough to make a difference.

I often felt like a failure,

Like nothing I did mattered,

Because no matter how hard I tried,

I couldn’t get rid of brokenness, heartache, and hurt.

 

Now, my biggest goal in life is to be present.

And when I’m present, I’m making a difference.

I may not be changing the world on a broad, sweeping, existential level,

But I am changing my own world,

And the world of those I’m with,

Just by living.

 

Will every moment be remembered?

No.

Will I even be remembered?

Not forever.

But while we’re here,

While we have this opportunity to live,

We get to influence one another and make a difference in each other’s lives,

Even when we don’t feel like we’re doing it.

 

Oh God: Help us to be present with and for life. Even when our presence and actions seem insignificant, help us to remember that they are significant to some and that lives are being changed and worlds are being shifted. As life becomes increasingly tense and we feel more and more overwhelmed and helpless, help us to remember that sometimes the smallest actions are the biggest and that even they can make a change. Help us to use our voices and our bodies for the good of all humankind, for that is what you have called us to do. Amen.