One of the things I love about the English language are the homonyms and synonyms. Words sounding or spelled the same yet having different meanings.  Present is one of those, with the addition of a different inflection changing the definition. Pre-SENT is to give someone something. PRE-sent (with a soft e) is a gift. It is also an indicator of time, as in now. As such, it can also be regarded as a gift. The gift of the present. We are given each day as a cause to give thanks, even for the “crappies” that may outnumber the “happies.”

How do we learn to want what we have already? How can we think it in our head in order to feel it in our heart? We continually do ourselves harm with our greedy, selfish, puffed up pride.  It’s all about the words we choose.  Instead of equating happiness with wealth,  why not try joy and contentment?  Even in the most extreme, messy and stressful moments of life, finding cause to be grateful is a precious jewel.  A precious present.

The remarkable ordinary circumstances of life that occasionally take our breath away in wonder and awe. Marvel at the stars if you are forced to be up before dawn. It only takes a moment to admire a light that took thousands of years to travel to your eye’s awareness. God delights in blessing us. Accepting every little thing that happens to us with an attitude of thanksgiving will release the power of God in and through us. Joy, not mere happiness, will burst out of us because of our faith more than our fleeting feelings.

We will want what we already have: life in Christ. His presence with which he presents the present of the present(!) will turn out to be all you ever needed. You will feel joy in the unconditional love that freely gives.

Pastor Art