The practice of being present

For the past year, God has been teaching me how to be present. This month, however, He's been forcing me to literally live day to day (more on this later), which has caused me to be way more present.

Before I got sick last year and began my battle with infertility, I planned a lot. I thought often about when I wanted to be pregnant, when we wanted to move next, start a business, travel, etc. Then God, in his kindness, crushed my long-term planning mindset. I thought, why, as humans, are we so tempted to live in the future? Today is all we have. We are all one phone-call away from our world turning upside-down, so why are we trying to figure out tomorrow and next month and next year instead of fully living today?

So, I began this journey of removing my focus on the future and placing it on the present. It has truly helped my contentment factor with this infertility thing. And not only that, but it has allowed me to see God more clearly and hear Him better. Here are some things I've changed recently that have helped me be present.

-I stopped caring about the location of my phone. When my phone wasn't around, I was more focused on what I was doing, who I was talking to, and what was in front of me. If I missed a call or a text, I could get back to that person later. It was so freeing.

-I removed Facebook from my phone. I don't know about you, but for me, Facebook was a big time-waster. This was life-changing. Now, I wasn't even tempted to look at my phone when I had a free second because my biggest time-waster was gone!

-I started caring more about other people's lives and a little less about mine. It really does give perspective when you walk with people through the ups and downs of their lives instead of being consumed by your own. When I began to get sad about my infertility, I prayed for those who've never had the chance to have a baby, or those who have lost babies (some of whom happened to be my close friends). It really helped me to be thankful for what God had already given me.

-I turned down the noise. Do you ever sit in silence? You should. It's comforting. No music, no voices, no electronics--just me and my thoughts and the Spirit of God, ready to speak. When you give silence a chance, you can hear what is happening around you now.

-I prayed for simpler things. When we were looking for housing in Nashville, I prayed for something weird--a house without a dishwasher. Why? I love hand-washing dishes. It slows life down and allows me to think and pray while my hands are at work. Plus, it reminds me of a simpler time in life where we didn't have immediate gratification for everything.

The practice of being present has been a game-changer for me. I long to live fully in this life so that I can best prepare for the next life--the eternal one, where we will forever be in His Presence.