Day 5: Presence (Defined as Being With)

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I read the book "Hands Free Mama" earlier this year (It's really an incredible movement if you haven't checked it out: http://www.handsfreemama.com/) and was so convicted by how not-present I was because of my use of technology.

If I want to point toward Jesus by reflecting Him with my actions, this is going to need to change. He was present - some would say to a fault. In Mark 5, he stops to have further conversation with the woman he had just healed, even though he was on his way to heal a dying little girl. I think it's safe to say he got some flack for that. But that didn't stop him. And, because he was God, the little girl's death wasn't the end of the story. He was able to resurrect her after taking all the time he needed with the woman.

It's that whole Emmanuel, God with us, thing that we think about so much in December. His presence. From the beginning of the Bible in Genesis, all the way to the last chapter in Revelation where "God made his dwelling WITH us." I love that. He's not separate, or apart, or too busy. Being with us is the beginning and the end.

But how do we do that? When we have what seems like an unending list of things to do? I certainly can't even seem to resurrect dinner some days if I let it overcook ;)

I'm starting small. I'm taking the advice from her book and her website, one step at a time. In December I experimented with powering off my phone from 2-5 every day. It was transformational in my relationship with my daughter. Being present with her changed her, and her response to it changed me. I find that it's most often during those 3 hours of the day she will say things like, "Mom, I just love hanging out with you." Those words never came out of her mouth before December, I think because we didn't spend much time hanging out. Every spare moment I had was filled with technology. But not anymore.

Presence. Defined as "Being With." Count me in for 2015.




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