Don’t Lose Sight of the Now

 Don’t get so focused on the next that you lose sight of the now.                                                          Christy Wright

As 2020 slips into 2021 it is easy to have our sights set on putting behind the losses of the past year and lean into what is to come next. The reality of a new calendar is not really like turning a page on a book. Those who are going through cancer treatments will still be in for the fight of their lives. Those with a new life growing inside will still be praying for the wee one who will fill their lives with joy. Those who have lost a loved one will still stop when they go to pick up the phone to call and share the news that screams to be shared with just that one person. Those who are missing a piece of their heart for whatever reason will still be longing for a wholeness. 

This morning my Bible scholar said that Emmanuel means God is with you. He pointed out that this should be a verdict that is already concluded not a hypothesis that we are gathering evidence to prove or disprove. God is with me when I pick up the phone and hear my choked up nephew tell me that his mom, my sister passed away. God is with me when I hold my sweet grandson in my arms moments after he entered this world. God is with me when my daughter marries the man who is better than her dreams on a snowy day with only a handful of people to witness the love in their eyes. God is with me when I am separated from my grandkids and their parents for far too many months. God is with me when I sit sipping coffee with my Ronnie B. looking out at the waves rolling in across the sand. God is with me today as my son is home for the first time in almost a decade but sleeping in a hotel a few blocks away so he doesn’t expose us to this viral killer. God is with me as I see His hand in rebuilding relationships that I had given up hope at rebuilding. 

My life should be a reflection of Him. When I am going through the circumstances that bring me to my knees or the ones that stand me up with my arms lifted in joy I need to believe Emmanuel~God is with me. He is with me in my quiet times, in the love I have for others, in the love I receive from others, and even when I am feeling alone, guilty or frustrated. God is with me means I am never abandoned or alone but embraced by His unending love.

In Him,

Joyful

12-23-20