Touching Eternity
The present is the point at which time touches eternity. -From C.S. Lewis’ book The Screwtape Letters.
Have you ever read The Screwtape Letters? A facsinating book, really. It’s a collection of correspondances between Screwtape, a wise old devil, and his nephew, Wormwood, a novice demon in charge of securing the damnation of a certain young man. There is so much to “chew” on in it. My favorite chapter is 15, where the above quote can be found. In it Screwtape explains to Wormwood the importance of keeping humans preoccupied with the past and the future…and never the present, for,
“Of the present moment, and of it only, humans have an experience analogous to the the experience which our Enemy (God) has of reality as a whole; in it alone freedom and actuality are offered them…”
*Sigh* Does anyone else find it hard to live completely in the present? To just be. To pause, to enjoy, to savor. I have found this to be the biggest struggle in my life as a stay-at-home-mom. Sure, I’m physically with my kids on a daily basis, but being mentally and emotianally engaged with them every day is most certainly a challenge. Some days are wonderful… some mediocre at best.
I love the mental picture of Noah that I wrote about …of him plopping himself in my lap, and his simple statement of happiness. (I will keep this in my heart always!) To me it is the epitome of just being. To a kid Noah’s age, the present is really all there is. (How lovely!) Even in my two older boys, I see this ability to just be to be fleeting. They are often looking forward to the sleepover, the playdate, Saturday morning (the only time that they can play GameCube. :)).
Of course, it’s totally okay for them to look forward to things (and also to enjoy memories of the past), but not at the cost of missing out on what is happening at the present moment. Oh! How I want them to be able to slow down and enjoy the moments that they are in each day! I’m (sometimes painfully) aware that they will learn how to do this through my modeling it. Yikes!
Anyway, that’s what has been in my head and heart these days. I hope I’ve given you something to “chew” on…and I’d love to hear any thoughts you have.
March 5th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Yes… oh dear, it is a struggle to be fully here sometimes. (I wrote the struggle recently, too. http://themealeyfamily.blogspot.com/2008/02/wonderful-night-for-moondance.html)
I read The Time Traveler’s Wife a few months ago… it was a GREAT book, but it also caused me to reflect on how I can spend a lot of my life “time traveling” by fixating on the past or thinking (worrying, more specifically) about the future. And when I do that, not only have I left my present, I’ve also left people behind. To be present is harder than I ever could have imagined as a child.
March 5th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
With Preparing to go on the field, uncertainty and impatience has the habit of taking the joy out of the present. It’s tough.
March 5th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
I find I’m really having a hard time staying in the present. It seems like my wedding day is taking forever to get here. If I think about it logically, I have just over two months left and I’ll never get this time back. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, I can imagine how it would be with kids, waiting for them to smile, sit up, stand, walk, talk and the list would go on and on.
March 6th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Yeah…it’s no doubt a serious ploy of the enemy to rob us of our present. I’m thinking of something I heard in a sermon a while ago…”Fight for your heart.” Or in this case, the present.