The Gift Of Your Presence

“There are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our encouragement, who will need our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give.” – Leo Buscaglia

There is something in your presence that just couldn’t compare with anything else. It is not merely the words you say. It is not merely the things you do. It is who you are that is there – body, mind, heart and soul, all of you that the other person gets to sense and witness, even before you say a single word.

And this is just what a lot of people need today. Presence. Availability. Time.

You can give another person all the money in the world, but it could never compare to the gift of your presence.

Who You Really Are

“See what I was in myself and by myself. I had destroyed myself, but He Who made me remade me.” -St. Augustine

You are not yet who you really are. Others may see but a dim reflection. You may see as with a mirror full of cracks and stain. But that is not the entire essence of who you are.

You must be able to see the person that God sees, the person God Himself has made.

You must see your true beauty and dignity before any shame or sin has ever touched you, before any pain and suffering has ever taken away your light.

Let all stains of disgrace be washed away. Let every wound that has blemished your wholeness be healed.

Trust in the One who has made you. Let Him purify you once more and renew you. Let Him reveal to you who you really are.

The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love… -Zephaniah 3:17, NRSV-CE

Wisdom From Above

We cannot rule wisely without allowing the God of wisdom to rule upon our hearts and minds. – Wisdom Nwani

 

Our human wisdom could never compare to God’s wisdom. We are from below, while He is from above. We see but a little, while He sees all. He sees everything that was, that is and that is yet to come. His eyes can penetrate beyond the outer shells of our defenses. His gaze is like a sword that pierces through our masks.

If we are to avoid disastrous consequences, we should always ask for the guidance of God’s wisdom. Without it, we are like blind men groping through various obstacles and traps. We may think we are going towards the right direction, but in truth, we may be headed for a deadend or a place where we do not truly wish to go.

Trust in the wisdom of Him who created the heavens and the stars and who put the mountains and hills where they are. Trust in Him who held back the waves of the seas and who determined the boundaries of the deep and of the earth.

…because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brothers, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, and not many noble; but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. -1 Corinthians 1:25-27, WEB

God Blesses Our Gifts

God accepts whatever gift we can best offer Him. If it is health, God accepts our health and all that we can do with our labors. If it is sickness, God accepts our sickness and our pain. If it is praise, it is praise He receives with gladness. If it is misery, then it is misery He welcomes with open arms.

Whatever state in life we are in, whether we are rich or poor, whether strong or in weakness, God receives from us all that we can offer Him. He honors each gift, each sincere thought, each sacrifice that we do out of love.

We need not be afraid that we can offer Him nothing, because He is the One who provides, and He is the One who blesses all our gifts, multiplying each one in His Grace and in His Love.

They told him, “We only have here five loaves and two fish.” He said, “Bring them here to me.” He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes. They all ate, and were filled. – Matthew 14:17-20, WEB