Faithful in this Moment!

Faithful is the kind of word that only comes up when we are at church or when talking about some bozo who wasn't faithful. There are a lot of other terms that could be used, such as Present in the moment, Attentive in the moment, Focused on the moment and they are all true to the similar point, except one. Faithfulness is being true to your core convictions and having you words be in line with those convictions, but faithfulness in the moment something that has hit me square between the eyes recently. Let me paint a picture for you:

My wonderful wife Tabetha was talking to me about this next semester with schedules and where kids are going and how we would juggle the changes and like 'Doug' (the dog from the movie, 'Up') I saw something that was outside and was like the dog saying 'squirel!' and I bolted out the door to see what was going on outside. I came back in not even realizing what I had done, I hurt my wife's heart because I was not faithful to her conversation. I had to appologize and earn back trust that I should have never taken.

What's the point? I heard someone ask 'How do I stay focused with everything going on in my life?' The answer wasn't the typical, 'Just like you eat an elephant, one bite at a time.' I heard wisdom that pierced my heart, 'Be faithful in the moment.' When they world is swirling all around and my son asks, 'Dad, how does this work?' Stop and focus not on everything at once, but be faithful in the moment and answer to the best of my ability. When my wife starts talking to me, ignore the 'squirels' and give her this moment, and giver her everything for this moment. When I walk into a consultation with a patient and I've read the chart, I've seen this so many times before, I slow down and make no assumptions and listen, and the world may crash all around outside, but for those moments, this patient, this condition is all that matters, this life, this mom, dad, sister, brother, for this moment I am faithful to them.

A old friend of mine, since back in the days of college taught me something in his drafty old Victorian home in freezing winter after I just got back from a pre-marital counseling session that I found out I had no mercy whatsoever. I was concerned that how was I going to go into health care and I'm as hard as a rock. My friend, now Dr. Miller said, 'when you walk into that room, just remember that's somebody's mother, that's somebody's father, sister, brother, child.' I've used that often when I have been helping to improve lives for 14 years, when I put my hand on the doorknob, nothing else matters once I turn that knob and walk in.

This is really a matter of focus, what we choose, yes I did say 'choose.' For years I would have tried to argue about right now, but from a hyperactive out of control little boy to being in a big boy's body, it is the choices we make that make us. Yes, somethings get thrown at us beyond our control, but when we pause to react, and choose how to respond, we start to understand focus. When any of you are in the clinic and if you ever think I am not being faithful in the moment, I give you permission to bring it to my attention. I just heard half of you say, wow, you must be looking for criticism, but I bet you may be disappointed.

Focus and being faithful in the moments we are given is like the difference of white light and red lasers. White light contain all the wavelengths that are moving is all kinds of directions, but when the wavelengths are put in parallel with each other & going the same direction they can cut through steel. We want to have a life without the craziness, with health, peace and love. I can't tell you everyday will be a bed of roses, actually I can probably bet more of the opposite, but instead of running from trouble, embrace it and know that each moment you are in this moment and not the ones that haven't gotten here yet and not the ones that are in the past.

Each moment you have to be faithful to the people in front of you, Pour your heart into them, don't suck the life out of them. Be in the moment and be faithful to who you choose to be in advance!

Until next time...