My word for 2021 is PRESENT. Not like presents that you get on your birthday, although I do love those too. Present as in being in a particular place and taking time to stop and enjoy exactly where you are.

I think we have a really hard time being present in our world today. It’s far too easy to turn on the television instead of having conversations, or put in your headphones rather than take in the sounds around you. Our world today has a problem with being present.

Yet, I also think that Covid-19 taught us a lot about being present and learning how to be exactly where we are. We had no option in 2020 but to learn how to enjoy a simpler life with those we live with directly. A year of a pandemic allowed many to start new hobbies and learn how to put down the phone for a moment to check in with a friend or enjoy making dinner at home. In fact, I think many of us finally had “enough time” on social media that it actually caused boredom instead of distracting us.

As I look through God’s Word to see what it means to be present, it’s hard not to think of Jesus who is “God With Us.” The Father literally sent His only Son to come and dwell among us, to be present with us. Jesus came to live life among His creation and then to die for us so we could be present with Him forever.

Jesus took time to stop and have a conversation with a Samaritan woman in John 4. He stopped to care for and listen to the children who came up to him. He sat on the side of a mountain and taught the people for hours in Matthew 5-7. Jesus was present with His people, which reminds me of His personal care and intentional compassion.

As we enter into 2021, I desire to continue to be present with those around me. Jesus is the ultimate example of being present with people, and I want to look more like Him this year by being present with others. I know I won’t always get it right, but I want to spend time focusing on this word so I can demonstrate more of the personal love God has for each person I encounter. I want to be the first to put my phone away when others are in the room. I want to be quick to ask others how they are doing when I see them. I want to take time to stop and enjoy days without my phone as I sit and savor more of Jesus.

“God will give you a place to inhabit, which means that you get to become attentive to what is there where you are. This means that to dwell knowledgeably and hospitably in and toward the place God gives you us to glorify him. God will give you a few things that he intends for you to do in your inhabited place and with those people. To do what God gives you to do is to strengthen the common good and to glorify him.”

Zack Eswine, Sensing Jesus

So, what’s your word for 2021? And how can you continue to practice presence with others this year? I pray that if the Lord allows us to be with one another this year, that you will feel seen and loved by the Lord as I get to practice being present with others.