“Wherever you are, be all there.” This is the quote that seemed to leap off the computer screen and wake me up last weekend as I mindlessly browsed my Facebook newsfeed. One of my favorite blogs for young women, called Girl Defined, had posted a beautiful picture with this quote by Jim Elliot scripted so perfectly. It’s such a short and simple quote, but it says so much! It’s as if I had found one of those pictures that is worth a thousand words.
Don’t just be there, but be ALL there! How many times are we physically in the company of others, but our mind is a gazillion (is that even a word???) miles away? How many times is someone else trying to get our attention as we are simply focused on that oh so “important” text message or the latest gossip from all the social media apps on our iphone or tablet? How many times does a friend, family member, or acquaintance ask us for help or our opinion, but all we can think about is our own problem at work, the perfect outfit we’re going to wear to the party Friday night, or what we’re going to make for dinner that evening?
Don’t just be there, but be ALL there! How many times are we physically in the company of others, but our mind is a gazillion (is that even a word???) miles away? How many times is someone else trying to get our attention as we are simply focused on that oh so “important” text message or the latest gossip from all the social media apps on our iphone or tablet? How many times does a friend, family member, or acquaintance ask us for help or our opinion, but all we can think about is our own problem at work, the perfect outfit we’re going to wear to the party Friday night, or what we’re going to make for dinner that evening?
But who am I to judge! I am just as guilty as the next person. In fact, I am ashamed to admit that there are times I am so worried and focused on something I am trying to deal with in my own life, that I can have a somewhat lengthy conversation with someone and hardly remember a word they said. It’s easy to stand there, nod your head, and smile, when nothing is actually registering in the brain. There are times that I sit up straight in a church service with my Bible in my lap and open to the correct passage as the pastor is talking, but my mind is mush. Nothing is being grasped because my mind is whirling about all the other issues of life. Does this sound familiar???
I am afraid that life in America has become so crazy busy and fast-paced, that even when we are physically present somewhere, most of the time we are not mentally and emotionally there. We try to pack so much into those itty bitty 24 hours called one day, that we miss out on things that are right before us that God intended us to see. How many times do we walk right by that person at church or work or even on the city sidewalk that just needs a smile to brighten their day, but we are so focused on our next destination that we don’t even realize their presence? How many times do we pass right by that person who might be hurting because we are too focused on our own feelings and agenda? How many times do we completely fail to notice that lonely child in our Sunday school class because our mind is overflowing with all the tasks we have to do after church?
God has us cross paths with the people we do in life not just to have a superficial conversation with them while our mind is focused on ourselves. He put us where we are for a reason so that we can impact the world around us. Those people we pass by every day need us to be ALL there for them. Ecclesiastes 9:10a says, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might . . .” God doesn’t just want us to give a half-hearted effort at reaching out to those around us. He wants us to give it ALL our might! When we serve in our church ministry, do we give it all we have? When we perform our duties at work, do we do everything we can? When we talk to those we come into contact with, do we truly seek to find out how they ARE? Or, are we just using a polite conversation starter? How much do we really care? We need to pray, “God, give me your eyes today that I may see!” Be ALL there for someone today, and make a difference!
Photo Credit: http://www.calvarychapeloflancaster.org/outreaches/
I am afraid that life in America has become so crazy busy and fast-paced, that even when we are physically present somewhere, most of the time we are not mentally and emotionally there. We try to pack so much into those itty bitty 24 hours called one day, that we miss out on things that are right before us that God intended us to see. How many times do we walk right by that person at church or work or even on the city sidewalk that just needs a smile to brighten their day, but we are so focused on our next destination that we don’t even realize their presence? How many times do we pass right by that person who might be hurting because we are too focused on our own feelings and agenda? How many times do we completely fail to notice that lonely child in our Sunday school class because our mind is overflowing with all the tasks we have to do after church?
God has us cross paths with the people we do in life not just to have a superficial conversation with them while our mind is focused on ourselves. He put us where we are for a reason so that we can impact the world around us. Those people we pass by every day need us to be ALL there for them. Ecclesiastes 9:10a says, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might . . .” God doesn’t just want us to give a half-hearted effort at reaching out to those around us. He wants us to give it ALL our might! When we serve in our church ministry, do we give it all we have? When we perform our duties at work, do we do everything we can? When we talk to those we come into contact with, do we truly seek to find out how they ARE? Or, are we just using a polite conversation starter? How much do we really care? We need to pray, “God, give me your eyes today that I may see!” Be ALL there for someone today, and make a difference!
Photo Credit: http://www.calvarychapeloflancaster.org/outreaches/