Have you ever found yourself mentally time-traveling? One minute you’re replaying that awkward thing you said last week, and the next you’re planning your grocery list for next Thursday. We’ve all been there, but what if there was a better way? A way to actually be where your feet are?
This isn’t just about mindfulness; it’s about a deliberate decision to fully engage with your life as it’s happening. As humans, we’re limited to the present moment, and God wants to meet us in the now. The past has its lessons, and the future has its plans, but the present is where we can actually show up and interact in relationships.
The week after Thanksgiving, the Dennis family – all 14 of us, traveled together, which was no small feat. We have young children and adult children who live outside our home, have jobs, school events, classes etc., it took coordination and intentionality to all be together for a week. Saturday, as our time together was winding down, I found myself unexpectedly with my older kids at the lunch table and internally I said to myself, “Just be here, be in this moment, this is a gift.” They were laughing and reminiscing about cartoons from their childhoods, teasing each other about their quirks and enjoying connection. I was observing it all and knew it was precious. As my older kids got up, my younger kids all descended on the same spot, unplanned, and I was suddenly surrounded by giggles, joking and the wonder that is young elementary life. Again a gift. I had an internal awareness that led to a choice to stay present and embrace the moment.
It could have been so easy to get stuck in the past, to feel the pull of a mental rewind button, playing a highlight reel of mistakes. This internal evaluation can lead me to either a great opportunity for learning, or more often, a pity party of regret. The key is to learn the lessons, bless the past for its wisdom, and move on. As it says in Isaiah 43:18-19, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Likewise, obsessing over the future could lead to “analysis paralysis”—that state where I can be so busy overthinking every possible outcome that I never actually do or enjoy anything and instead end up stuck in the spiral of too many thoughts and choices. Worry, fear, and anxiety can be the fun-suckers of my day. The antidote is to trust that I’m on the right path and focus on the step right in front of me. Matthew 6:34 reminds us, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Jesus himself was the ultimate master of being present. He was fully with people in their moments of pain, joy, and everything in between. He showed us that the greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matthew 22:37-38). When you love God with everything you are, you find that the people and tasks right in front of you are the ones who receive your full attention.
At that lunch table, I had a choice, a choice to be present, to allow the external pulls and distractions to lose their power, to just sit and absorb the now of what was happening. Letting go of both the thoughts of regret as well as the lists of what was coming next, where we needed to be, what I needed to be doing and just be with them all in the moment. Embracing the present which really was a present.
So this holiday season and into 2026, I issue a challenge to us all, can we choose to be more intentional and choose to be present? What might be the impact of staying in the now, showing up fully present, not getting pulled to the past or drawn into the future? Living in the moment can turn a mundane everyday task into a rich experience. It can turn a holiday gathering into a precious memory. It’s about not missing out on the small, joyful things—the smile of a stranger, the kind words of a friend, the twinkle in your loved ones eyes, the warmth of the sun on your face, an unplanned lunch with ALL your kids. Take a deep breath, ground yourself in the now, and remember the powerful truth that, “There’s nothing greater than to love the one who’s right in front of you.”