The Present Moment

 

My one year old and my four year old are the best teachers ever when it comes to trusting and living in the moment.  They mainly live in the NOW.  That is what my dad and I always call it.  When you exist in the present without looking back and without hurrying forward and without worrying about the in-betweens.

For example, for the last year, they’ve been working on the bridge a few miles from our house.  I believe the bridge was compromised by erosion underneath it.  So subsequently, they tore the whole thing out and dug down to below the foundation.  My husband and I joked about how long it was taking to fix.  Patrick always looked out the window of the car to see what machinery they were using that particular day.  A few days ago, he said to me as we were driving home from errands, “Mommy, is the bridge done?”

“Yes,”  I said, “it’s finally finished!”

“Is it safe to drive over?”

“Yes, Patrick, if it weren’t safe, they would still have the road blocked off.”

“Can we try it?”

“You mean, going over it?”

“Yes, I want to try the bridge.  Why haven’t we gone over it?”

“Well, it really doesn’t lead anywhere we need to go.  But yes, we can try it.  How about right now?”

And so we lived in the NOW and we went over a brand new bridge…at 5 miles an hour.  Patrick was all smiles, and I suppose I was too.

I have been schooled in the fact that the NOW is unpredictable and passes at different rates for different people.  Such as when my infant daughter decides she’s ready to eat, there is no such thing as an acceptable promise for the future.  She demands food NOW!

Or yesterday, Patrick and I were out on the pond on a paddleboat (new-generation paddle boats are SOOO much easier and more fun than the ones I remember from my childhood!).  Just me and Patrick, while Gram waited with Melanie on the shore.  He said, “Look, we scared the turtles off the turtle log.”

“Yes,” I said, “they like to sun themselves there.  Maybe it feels good after being in the water for a long time.  Do you think you would like to be on the log if you were a turtle?  What would your favorite thing about being a turtle be?”

In an exasperated voice: “Mom, I  am DONE talking about turtles now.  I don’t want to talk about that anymore.”

“Okay, what do you want to talk about?”

“The pond’s drain pipe!  There it is!”

His NOW had already moved on from my conversation!  It made me laugh.

I love to read.  My son’s relationship with books is not as passionate as I wish it were.  But when he gets in the  mood, we read everything around us in one sitting.  And living in a story on a page, be it Green Eggs and Ham, or Cars and Trucks and Things That Go, or Thomas the Tank Engine, is living in the NOW to me.

Patrick and Melanie’s appreciation for the NOW is not always convenient for an adult trying to live in adult society.  Such as a diaper blow out from Melanie just as we’re heading for the car, or a tantrum about the type of shoes that mother and son can agree on wearing for an outing that is dictated by the clock on the wall!

Speaking of perfect timing, this morning in my Sunday school class, my friend Jason was teaching about the story of Mary and Martha.

 

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one.^[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

 

LUKE 10:38-42

 

Here’s a study in the NOW.  That doesn’t mean that later on, the things Martha was concerned about weren’t done.  I kinda hope Jesus pitched in to do those chores when he was done sharing his stories with them!  The concept of this story is so applicable to being a parent.  My kids want my NOW.  They ask for it all the time. How often can I step out of my own time and into theirs?

There’s a time for everything.  But I think kids teach us the beauty of the present moment.