I was holding in my hands the most beautiful present I had ever seen. It was wrapped tightly in gold paper that glimmered like the sun. The burgundy ribbon wrapped around both sides until it concluded into a perfectly symmetrical bow on top. This gift was beautiful in every way, and it was mine to enjoy.
There were other gifts around me, but they were not as lovely. They were dull, misshapen, irregular, and not nearly as alluring as the gift I was holding. Nevertheless, I found myself interested in those gifts. I kept looking at the odd angles and the crooked bows and the sloppy edges. I could only look at my gift for a while before my attention was brought back to the inferior gifts.
The beautiful gift I am describing is not a real, tangible present; I am instead referring to the present time. We have all been given this beautiful gift of life. The present is in my hands. I have the opportunity to love and laugh and serve and worship.
The other gifts that are diverting my attention take the form of social media, television shows, and other similar distractions. It is so easy for me to get caught up in these things that are not necessarily bad things. However, I find that I end up wasting a lot of my time on things that have no impact on me or my life.
This Christmas season has been one of my favorites yet. I love everything about Christmas- decorating the tree, drinking hot chocolate, watching cheesy Hallmark movies. This Christmas was especially important for me to soak up every minute because I know that Christmas 2017 will look very different in Vietnam. I actively worked to avoid pointless distractions and to stay fully present with my family and friends, and it turned out to be a beautiful gift.
Christmas was the first of many times when I am choosing to be present. I want to be fully present during my last semester at Auburn, the university I love with every bit of my heart. I want to be fully present as I teach a class of sweet second graders. I want to be fully present as I graduate and say goodbye to the best friends I’ve made during the last 4 years. I want to be fully present as I share this World Race journey and continue fundraising. I want to be fully present to worship and love and laugh and delight and serve. And beginning in August, I want to be fully present in India. Then Nepal. Then in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the rest of my countries. Because I know that the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, but Jesus came so that we may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10).
So join me as we spend 2017 being fully present. Join me as we live a full life with our focus on Jesus. And I invite you to join me on this journey around the world.
