In the moment

Wednesday in the First Week of Lent

God looks down from heaven upon us all,

to see if there is any who is wise,

if there is one who seeks after God.

Psalm 53:2

I smile as I hear my friend’s familiar voice over the phone, and in my mind I can see her smile as well in greeting. I have been trying to unravel a difficult issue, to find a good way forward on a murky road. She is often a sensible guide in such times.

As I lay out my conundrum, my friend is ready with a helpful aphorism, from scripture even, “Do not say, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.” (Ecclesiastes 7:10). It is not helpful to compare one time to the next, one person to another, one outcome with another. Where we are is now. What’s in front of us is this moment. This time with God.

I laugh happily at this reminder of what I already know. How staying present to the moment is life-giving. That breathing in the holiness that surrounds me will always carry me forward. True wisdom is simply this: to seek God.