“You must be present, Mommy,” my daughter said.

“What do you mean, Princess?” I asked. I was in our home country and trying to spend as much time as possible with her while I was here.

“You are here, but you are not here. Though you are here with us, you are already planning to go somewhere else. You are not present. Can you please be present and not focus on your next project?”

Now I understood. It was absolutely true. I was already thinking about what to pack and preparing myself mentally for our transition to ministering in a new country with a new way of life. This is an important thing to do, but I realized that I shouldn’t worry about it while I was spending time with my precious family.

How often do our thoughts wander when we are spending time with someone? We listen, but we are far away. I learned a valuable lesson from my daughter, and I’m thankful that she took the trouble to teach it to me. We only have this precious time together for a moment, then it is gone forever. Why not be completely present for that moment?

I also realized that sometimes when I spend time with God, I am also not present. I worry about the future, and yet God wants me to be present, placing my trust in Him. Praise God for valuable lessons learned. “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10).

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