Be Here

 

We live in an age of electronics and text messaging.  A time of blogging and facebook and twitter and even snapchat.  A time when it is easy to get lost in the view of the world, without really being part of what is going on around us. 

I have heard so often that there are times when we need to "disconnect".  It is easy to let life rule you with alarms and texts and emails and projects.  But sometimes, we just need to be in the here and now.  We need to stop and look around us.  We need to be right here, exactly where are feet are. 

When we are living in the moment, instead of in the future or the past, it is easier to be kind to ourselves.  It is easier to find joy and satisfaction.  When we can see our children playing with the puppy, or laughing at the birds or bouncing on the trampoline, we can be a part of their lives instead of passive observers along the way. 

I love to take pictures.  I love photography and the chances I have had to observe what is going on around me, however, I don't think I ever realized before how often I am not in the pictures.  I am the left out observer and recorder of the events.  When I look back through the family photography, I am missing from most of the shots.  I really do hate having my picture taken.  But I am realizing that there are times when we all need to be a participant, exactly here and now, and not on the outside looking in.  There are times when we need to come out from behind the viewer and be in front of the lens. 

We need to be

right where our feet are.

 

 

Something Sacred

Who knew that Mr. Rogers could be so profound!  I love this.  I love that we can all choose to be more Christ-like in our lives through loving and serving those around us.  I love that it can be a sacred responsibility.  I especially like where he says appreciation is a holy thing.   How many times do we, in the very human mess that we live in, fail to appreciate the efforts of someone else?  How many times do we think that we can change things tomorrow? 
It is easy to think about the things that we wish we could have done, or the things we wanted to see, or even the person that we would like to become.  It is easy to place blame somewhere, anywhere else.  We can lose our focus and not appreciate those whom we love the most. 
I have learned that it does not matter how people behave in public, I want to know how they behave in private.  I want to know how the speak to their wives and children, to their families and close friends.  One thing that I have observed in life, is that we tend to treat strangers better than we treat our families.  We expect more from our families. 
A good example of that is found in my own life.  Many, many years ago, I was the person who always signed up to bring dinner to others, or make cakes for birthdays.  Once, I only had one cake mix left in the cupboard and needed to make a birthday cake for a friend, so I did.  One of my small children was so very disappointed that I made something for someone else and not them that he started crying, and told me that I "never did anything nice like that for them". 
Now, I know that little boy was exaggerating, but something in his tone and tears hit me right in the heart.  I vowed then to change so that my children would never think I saw them a second best.  I can't say that I am always as successful as I want to be, but I can say that I am more successful than I used to be.  Today, when I make dinner and dessert for someone else, we make the same thing for our own house.  If I make brownies, or rice krispies treats, I make them for home too. 
My family could never be second best to me.  I am pretty sure that most people feel the same way about their own families, so, if we are supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves, our own family needs to feel and see that love first, not second or third.  They should feel our love in both our words and our deeds. 
As I struggle to become more Christ-like in my life, I really can't think of a better place to start than right in my own home. 

What I learned - Oh how great, the plan of our God

We are surrounded by such an astonishing wealth of light and truth that I wonder if we truly appreciate what we have.

President Uchtdof talked about how blessed we are.  How we are surrounded by so many amazing things.  When we think about the medical care we have today, and the ability to find answers on the internet, the smart phones that have all the information we can imagine at our fingertips, and even the cars and televisions of today.  We are literally surrounded by amazing technology that gives us access to things that were once only in a science fiction novel.

President Uchtdorf talked about going to Belfast, in Northern Ireland. While there, he noticed the Belfast Coat of Arms, which includes the motto “Pro tanto quid retribuamus,” or “What shall we give in return for so much?”  What a question to ponder as we go through each day.  Are we too busy to even realize our blessings?  Do we not have time for our scriptures and prayers?  Do we forget the great gifts God has surrounded us with every single day?

I invite each of us to consider this question. What shall we give in return for the flood of light and truth God has poured out upon us?  What is it worth to us?  I think that the best gift of all is to take advantage of the knowledge that we are blessed with.  We can study and pray and find the answers to our questions.  We can seek and learn.  We can follow the commandments and seek the light that is around us. 

I have learned that it is so easy to get overwhelmed with the business of every day life.  It is easy to put anything that is not a hot topic on the back burner.  However, I am also learning that we need to make God a priority in our lives, no matter how busy we might be.  He is there.  He answers our prayers and He will help us in our daily struggles. 

I think the best way to show appreciation is to remember Him in all the little things that surround us.  It is not just the big things that make us.  We don't have to wait until we are hurting to involve Him in our lives.  We just need to remember Him, to know He is there.  To know that we are loved.  To know that He wants us to come to Him.