Living in the now...

Tonight I had the opportunity to watch the kids while Simone was able to get out of the house and enjoy something she likes to do. So as I sat at the dinner table eating with Breana, we had a conversation about trust and lying. I asked her if she knew what trust means. She said of course daddy, it’s when someone believes in someone else….she is growing up too fast by the way. So I explained to her why it is important to always tell the truth, because when you lie all of the time people stop believing in you, they begin to trust you less. So I asked her if she was to break something in the house and we asked what happened if she would tell the truth, she said yes daddy, I don’t want you and mommy and Jacob to not trust me!! Precious!!

Then I had the privilege of playing with Jacob after giving him a bath. We played football, choo choo, cars, and even had time to build something on his little work bench. He then politely requested some milk, and sat down to finish watching Incredibles.  After about 15 minutes he simply walked over to me, pointed to his room, and simply said “book”. So we read “clickity clack”, “Goodnight NOLA”, and “I know an Old Lady”. While reading “I know an Old Lady” he started to bounce his head to the rhythm of the story…and at the end of every line the book says “I don’t know why she swallowed a fly”, he would lift his arms up and shrug his shoulders…I could barely finish the book I was laughing so hard.

After that, I tucked him in his bed and combed his hair with my fingers as he fell asleep. He looked into my eyes and just when it looked like he wanted to say something deep and meaningful, he pointed to his blanket and said “buzz”. I just smiled. He saw me smiling and started to smile too…..it was like our hearts were beating to the rhythm of the same drum.

This led me to a question. Why don’t I do this more often?

Which led to another question. Am I caught up in the hustle and bustle of busyness, or do I take times like this to actually live life?

I have to say I am saddened by my answer.

Then one more question. Do I live my life as a follower of Jesus caught up in the hustle and bustle of busyness, not taking time to live life with people?

Am I just existing?

Do I take time to let people know that I care about them, that they are loved and accepted? I was talking to a good friend at lunch and he said “I’m no pastor, I just care about people”. He knows what it is like to live in the present. He spends time with a guy shoveling dirt, not because he enjoys shoveling dirt, he cares about people. I told my friend he is a pastor, even though it’s not his work title, he cares about people, that’s a pastor!

I realized I need to be living in the present…..

If it takes shoveling dirt to show someone how much I care, then so be it….or simply reading about an old lady who swallowed a fly, and laughing with my son as he shrugs his shoulders!