Be the Present

Take the time to unwind,
To tighten a screw too much is to strip it. It becomes unusable.

Take the time to laugh.
Like you did when you were a kid. Don't over think it. Laugh and let it go....

All that frustration. All that anger. All that worn-out-Ed-ness.
All that. Let it go.

Forgive those that wronged you. They don't care.
I can promise you they aren't losing one blink of shut eye about what they did to you. They may not even know. If they did, would they care?

Bitterness is a seed. If given root it grows a thorny vine guaranteed to
Choke the life and love out of this season and ruin your presence of mind.

Let it go. Give grace this Christmas to those who don't deserve it. You will find that it is not them that receives the present but you.

Do you really think your family wants to listen to the venom of bitterness that spews from your mouth when "that topic" comes up.

Give it up and let your present be your presence.

They want you! Not your baggage. Not your anger. Drop kick that into the woods and come out of the woods into the gleaming meadow full of the flowers of your best days on this planet.

You cannot run encumbered. You cannot jump with joy when you have your eyes upon the rat in the corner. Let it go.

Be there. Be real. Be rested.

Why kill yourself finding the perfect present when a rested, happy, healthy you is the best present you could give your family?

They want to laugh and wrestle, and tell stories with you. It is time to make today one of the "good old days" instead of just talking about them.

Sure your back hurts and you have a cold and something aches. You may wake up one day and realize that today was a good day and you just didn't know it.

Be kind to others. A kind word may be the best tinsel on the tree for someone who feels discouraged.

Remember that everyone has their secret pain, their struggles. As you lay your head upon your pillow to sleep, thoughts go through your mind only known to you and your Maker. That place.

It is in that place every human being resides with a gnawing insecurity if the ways I am spending my days really matter at all.

If you want to have a day that lives forever...take a child to do something fun. The zoo. The aquarium. Someplace "cool" sans a flickering screen but with you. Be the present. Be present.

Now it is time to take my iPad, put it down, and laugh with my family. Will you?


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