2019: Be Present

Let the word choosing ceremony commence.

2018 was all about Choosing Joy and it served me really well. I have found myself in dark places mentally the past two years and the only way I can figure out how to wade through the muck and mire of this world is to look for joy. To intentionally find the joy. To choose the joy over the ugliness that we have created. God created this world with love and joy. We have brought the darkness into it yet joy and love persist.

In 2019 I choose to Be Present. As I continue to choose joy in my everyday, I want to focus on right here, right now.

My calendar for 2019 is already filling up. I purchased a new planner back in October and started using it in December and have filled in several events, trips, and opportunities. I have a few things on the horizon that are thrilling and exciting yet also a little scary at the same time. They will take a lot of my effort and energy and if I get bogged down in those type of details they can become overwhelming and the joy of the entire adventure has been stolen even before it’s begun.

In 2019 I choose to Be Present

In order to avoid the anxiety over the unknown or the yet to be discovered, I need to be present and taking care right now and remember that the sun will continue to rise regardless of what my future holds. Focus on what is right in front of me; what needs my attention now; do what needs to be done to make sure today is satisfied. I don’t want to be so busy looking ahead that I miss what is happening right in front of me.

Last week I already experienced the mental strain of looking to the future and feeling stressed about what is to come and the work that comes with it. On January 10 I was convinced that it was already February. I told people it was February and wondered how in the world could that have happened so fast. I bought a friend a box of Russell Stover chocolates because I was sure that it was February and chocolates would be in stock at the store.

It was not February.

I was so worried about what was to come in February that I had already transported myself there 21 days early. Obviously I was not living in the right now and being present.

So what does a desire to be present look like? Maybe that means putting my phone down and looking at my boys more. Perhaps that means writing when the inspiration strikes instead of putting it off. Maybe that means going for a walk just for the sake of a walk and enjoying the sun. It means learning to take a deep breath, allowing myself to pause and calm down before spiraling out of control with unnecessary worry.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

I grew up listening to those words put into lyrics. It was only in this past year that I started to visualize that the promise as a light that is right in front of me. It doesn’t say that my entire way will be illuminated. There is no guarantee that my entire life journey will have a spot light on it. Just this path I’m on. Right now, in this moment.

God’s words and promises illuminate the right here and right now and perhaps that is where I should be too.

God has promised to be present with me so being present in my life feels like a good strategy.