I am here to be with you

That became my mantra after a silent retreat this fall.
It seemed like it said everything.

I am HERE - on this earth - to be in conscious contact (communion) with the source of all life.

And I am HERE in prayer - to be in conscious contact (communion) with the source of all life.

And it is easy to say and hard for me to really do. Be HERE.

So often I am somewhere else - thinking ahead, pondering the past, wondering what to do next.
Distracted by sounds, by my body, by my inborn resistence to be HERE>

I write all this after a time of contemplative prayer in the sanctuary this morning. As I sat there, with a candle lit, after reading a devotional, and in silence.

I was present - or at least trying to be.

The question of this day was - "What do you have to let go of for this season?"

And always I wonder about that. I am taking something on - which is giving God my time every morning.

But the question is: can I give God my attention? Can I be here?

I am working on it.

And hoping always for growth.