Water, Please! (12/29/2025)

Yesterday, as I sat at my kitchen table, writing a “to do” list, I happened to look up as I was trying to think of the right word. And there by the dinette window sat a wilting plant that screamed, “Water, please!” I felt so bad. I immediately put down my pen, jumped up, and started watering the plants around my home, apologizing to them for forgetting them during the season festivities. But in the back of my mind, there was this nagging voice that kept whispering “it’s not the first time this has happened.” And it is true. I can neglect the things that don’t nag me.

And that explains why I struggle with choosing at times. The “squeaky wheel” tends to get my time and attention more times than not. I realize it is late in my game to be rethinking my approach, but late is better than never, or so I’ve been assured. And so, I went to my calendar frig for 2026 and wrote “water” on every Sunday of January. Then I opened my desk calendar where I make my “to do” lists and I started writing in things I put off because they don’t have deadlines or aren’t vocally nagging me: clean my closet; change the sheets; clean the oven; etc.

Then last evening as I sat with the LORD before bedtime, sharing my day, and seeking peace for the night and the promise of direction in the morning, I remembered the watering incident. And out of nowhere, I found myself uttering, “Be still and know that I AM.” The LORD does have a way! And I realized to my core that my problem isn’t memory that needs reminders; my problem is lack of presence in the moment. “Oh, LORD, help me to be present in the moment, to see what I should see, to be whom I should be, for your glory and the goodness of all You love.”

On my counter sits the verse from Psalm 46:8 – Be Still and know that I AM. I found it months ago. I haven’t framed it or hung it. I can’t explain why. I smiled this morning when I read it again. Oh, LORD, marvelous are your ways. This day, my focus is on “being.” My “doing” will flow from being present, seeing what is needed, reading the signs before me and within me. This morning, I have a “game plan” or life plan.

As we continue our journeys of faith, hope and love, let us be present to one another, present to life within our purview, the needs crying out around us, the LORD whispering within us.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.