Do you ever get that frantic feeling when someone is spilling their guts about what they are going through and you know when they finish talking you better have something life changing to say to inspire them or encourage them. When my friends are having a hard time I want to help, I want to say the right things, I want to make a difference. I often find myself talking to God, "Lord how can I encourage this person?" "Can you help me articulate something brilliant to say to my friend that I haven't said a million times before?"
In my frantic searching for something life changing to say most times I miss out on what my friend is saying and I forget the most important thing is really simple. Being present, I start to underestimate the power of being present. I can't tell you how many times that I've been alone at my apartment and just wanted someone to be there. Not to offer a word of advice, not to have an answer to my question, but someone to just to be there. Sometimes the best thing we can offer is not words but our presence.
Being present takes time, it sometimes means sacrificing other things to be there but sometimes that is just what we need to do. I think of that often when I think of my son, I want him to know that I'm there for him, that he can count on me. There will be times of course when find ourselves alone, but when we are and those hard times come, we will remember those who made themselves available and took the time and somehow we feel their presence never left.
This is a picture of a dear friend of mine with my son. One of my favorite pictures ever, he took the time to be present.
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