{"id":799227,"date":"2019-09-06T13:12:25","date_gmt":"2019-09-06T19:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=371139"},"modified":"2019-09-06T13:12:25","modified_gmt":"2019-09-06T19:12:25","slug":"walking-our-faith-expanding-our-present-with-presence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/walking-our-faith-expanding-our-present-with-presence\/","title":{"rendered":"Walking our Faith: Expanding our present with presence"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I\u2019ve been looking forward to Sept. 1 since the middle of July, which might be part of my problem. Since the middle of August, I\u2019ve been searching the ground cover for the first signs of changes in the color.<\/p>\n

And sure enough, hidden amongst the bright green, I saw the deepest red leaves last Saturday. I took a picture, and I knew that soon I would see the first golden leaves in an Aspen tree.<\/p>\n

I am always looking forward to something. Whether it\u2019s a change of season or the next thing on my to-do list, I am somebody who tries every new planner that comes to market in an attempt to keep track of where I\u2019m supposed to be and what I\u2019m supposed to be doing at any given moment.<\/p>\n

The problem, I realized as I enjoyed the ruby red leaves, is too much anticipation distracts me from paying attention to the present moment. I\u2019d spent the last glorious weeks of summer looking for signs of autumn.<\/p>\n

How often do I find myself in a telephone conversation with Mom and she will ask, \u201cWhat are you doing right now, Suzanne?\u201d I\u2019ll answer, \u201cI\u2019m listening to you.\u201d And Mom will reply, \u201cI can tell you\u2019re distracted. Your mind\u2019s a million miles away.\u201d And of course, she\u2019s right. And that\u2019s a shame because Mom is 92 and our phone calls are precious, and she deserves my attention and respect. <\/p>\n

Why is it so difficult to pay attention? Yet even as I pray, my mind wanders. Even as I practice living fully in the moment, my mind wanders to what I have to do next. And it occurs to me that time is flowing by whether I am paying attention to my life or not.<\/p>\n

Just two months ago, we had our last big snowfall of the season. And in those two months, we\u2019ve managed to squeeze in spring and summer. And two month from now, I\u2019ll look up and see snow-covered mountains and be preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yet it feels like just yesterday I was writing about what I\u2019ve given up for Lent.<\/p>\n

The Bible says, \u201cAll flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall.\u201d And I am reminded that the days of my life flow by whether I use them wisely or not. And that is exactly the glorious choice I face each day. I don\u2019t have to wait until New Year\u2019s to begin again. When I open my eyes each morning, my life begins again.<\/p>\n

I want to pay attention and be fully present when I am with people I love, to experience my time with them. I want to pay attention when I am walking with my dogs and notice my surroundings. I never want to take for granted this beautiful mountain setting.<\/p>\n

And when I am sitting and speaking to God, I want to give him my full attention. To experience the awe of sitting in God\u2018s presence, I want to learn to be a better listener when God is speaking because God is always speaking to each of us, but we are often so distracted we can\u2019t hear what our hearts are aching to hear.<\/p>\n

I believe there is so much more to be experienced in our relationship with God if we will pause long enough to say, \u201cSpeak Lord, your servant is listening.\u201d And to have the patience to wait and listen and pay attention to hear God\u2019s response. <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if practicing presence expands the time we have here on Earth. But I believe it enriches it by allowing us to discover the precious gift of each moment. I\u2019ve found that my ability to experience presence has grown as I\u2019ve participated in weekly centering prayer and adoration\/silent prayer practices around Summit County. Here are the ones I know about. If you have others, please email me so that I can share them.<\/p>\n