Present in His Presence

 A lot of people have been counting down until Christmas for weeks. Talk has been circling around putting up trees and decorations and Hallmark movies. You know, if you love the décor just put it up and don’t worry about what others have to say about it. But, be present. My parents were in Amway when I was younger, and they did a lot of self-help and motivational speakers, a thought they taught still runs through my head regularly: don’t wish your life away. Be here, now. If it’s a weekday don’t begrudge it not being the weekend. If it’s thanksgiving don’t begrudge it not being Christmas yet. It all circles around the premise of being present in the present.

It is November 1^st. One of my favorite times! My daughter has been talking for months about the coming Thanksgiving tree and taking time out of our day to focus on being thankful. Oh, how it makes my heart glad to know that she has caught the bug. Of course, life with H is a constant game of charades. She keeps me on my toes as she starts describing little bits and pieces of things and expects me to be on the same page and know what is in that beautiful brain of hers. So, today, because I am not a great planner, I found colored printer paper and found leaf templates online and we started cutting out colored leaves. Then the kids went out and hunted acorns and twigs. We set up the vase that holds our Thanksgiving decoration and wrote on our 1^st leaves of the month. My Barnabus has this phrase that some things are taught, and some things are caught. I love that!  I feel like I teach all the time, I turn most things in our life into little teachings and create life lessons to equip my children to become adults in the near future. But, just because I am doing my job of teaching does not mean that they are catching what is being thrown…After our time of devotion I had a conversation with E and asked him why this is so important and why we have turned it into a family tradition. He says to me that being thankful combats complaining and brings on contentment. He caught it. Proud momma moment!

I am not a fan of Halloween and am glad that it is behind us. I adore Christmas and can’t wait to be with family and friends and celebrate the birth of my Savior and to remember why we have this Freedom. But, I love this time in between as well and am determined to be present this month as we practice thankfulness. A time to enjoy the color of the leaves, a change in the weather, the cooler weather and layers of clothes, the excuse to drink hot tea and to snuggle under the blankets, cozying on the couch with the kids and a good book, a time to reflect on all that we have and how good the love of our Savior is to us. He loves us so lavishly!