Laura Henry was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies and a Masters of Education in Counseling and Human Development. Laura and her husband, Christian, have been in ministry for 7 years. They both serve at Liberty Live Church in Hampton, VA. Christian is the Middle School Pastor while Laura works part-time as the Elementary Curriculum Coordinator and serves in the Student Ministry and Worship Ministry at Liberty. 
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why we call it the ‘present.’
– Eleanor Roosevelt
As my husband and I drove down the road one day, he asked me a provoking question: “What can we do in our family to slow down?” This is one of the things I love about my husband: he is always looking for ways to improve, individually, as a couple, and as a family. He is not afraid to ask the hard questions. I began to search my heart and ask God to convict me where we needed to improve. Naturally, I began thinking about what the Lord had convicted me of personally, “I need to be more present. I need to let go of my worries, forget the past, put my phone down, sacrifice a clean house at times, and be more present.”
I asked myself on that car ride if being present was biblical, or just a good piece of advice. I began to search the Scriptures as well. This is what I found: Matthew encourages us not to be anxious about tomorrow… “each day has enough trouble of its own,” he says (Matthew 6:34). David writes in Psalm 118:24 “This is the day that the Lord has made.” He reminds us to rejoice in today, not tomorrow and not yesterday. Paul encourages us in Philippians to “forget what is behind and press on to what lies ahead” (Philippians 3:13-14). The Bible urges us to be present, not be consumed with the past and not be worried for the future. But why? It’s simple: the present is where we can experience the fullness of the presence of God.
Now, God is omnipresent, everywhere at all times. Scripture reminds us that He “will never leave you, nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5-6, Deuteronomy 31:6-8). Therefore, His presence was with us in the past and will be with us in the future. In fact, Scripture also says that “His presence goes before you”. (Deuteronomy 31:5-6) So, before we even get to the future, He is already there. His presence isn’t only in the present moment. He is in every moment. However, it is only in the present moment that we experience the fullness of Him. I can’t experience the presence that’s two days in the future. While I know He is already there, I can only experience God’s presence right now. We must choose to be actively present.
Let’s be real, the world does a pretty good job of keeping us distracted, busy, or otherwise disengaged from the present moment. So many things vie for our attention, even good, Godly things. As a mom of two, I can admit that my mind is usually cluttered with my toddler’s naptime schedule, my newborn’s feedings, the doctors’ appointments, the grocery list, the huge pile of laundry and the overflowing sink of dishes. I’m frequently disengaged from the present mentally. There is only so much brain capacity. While none of the things mentioned above are bad, they can distract from the present. Add in social media and television, and being present is virtually impossible.
Why do I say all this? While being present might mean being more intentional and possibly choosing to limit or completely eliminate certain distractions, I believe doing so will be worth it, because doing so will allow us to experience the presence of God more fully than ever before. So, let’s let the pile of laundry sit one more day and play with our kids. Let’s lift our heads up from our phones and engage in the life that’s happening around us. Let’s choose to fully experience this day, that the Lord has made. Let’s rejoice and be glad in it.
