Presence

So, there are some bigger topics I want to post on that God has been teaching me about recently, but also a couple of things I want to mention from earlier in the year that have really struck me so I'll do those now and wait for the weekend to work on the other things.

This quote from Stasi Eldredge in Captivating really stuck out to me as something very relevant to me in my daily life, and I think increasingly important as the world becomes more and more virtual:

The gift of presence is a rare and beautiful gift. To come - unguarded, undistracted - and be fully engaged with whoever we are with at that moment.

When I spend time with someone and come away feeling unsatisfied, it is usually because I, or they, have not been truly present. Equally, the most fulfilling encounters happen when people are truly spending their time with each other, listening, sharing, genuinely caring.

This applies from the most mundane of times to the most important. I work with children, and previously to reading this had been getting frustrated and bored in my job. Nothing seemed that exciting, the children began to play up at times, and it just didn't seem fun  or worthwhile any more. The moment I read these two sentences it clicked: I was no longer present with them. I was depriving them of what they needed to thrive by letting my own thoughts and presence wander to what seemed important in my life at the time.

A friend at the time also said in an unrelated conversation 'you get out what you put in', and, though we have all heard it so many times, it really is true. When I start investing in those children, connecting with them, being present with them, we all enjoy it and those times becomes precious treasures in our memories.

I don't have it all sorted, and I need to be reminded of this every day (just revisiting it to write this post is teaching me all over again and it was only a few weeks ago!), but I am beginning to learn that there is nothing more important to be thinking about than how I am interacting each moment with the people present with me. Presence is one of the greatest gifts that can be given or received, and you need no qualification, no finances, no high profile or great calling to give it. Just you, whoever you are.