Remember when photographs were tangible?
Captured on film and then printed on paper?
Before the digital age, that’s how memories were stored, so I have boxes and boxes full of photo albums and loose, individual pictures that need to be passed on to my sons.
In this sorting process, I keep bumping into pictures of myself, surprised to remember that I used to have dark hair, holding an infant or a toddler, or swathed in voluminous maternity clothes. We’ve all changed so much, and even our house looks completely different now. The process has been jarring because it has revealed how oblivious I have always been, how I’ve missed things that were smack dab right before my eyes.
So often, my heart and my feet have been in two different places, or perhaps more accurately, my eyes were seeing, but my mind was elsewhere. In the moment, did I notice the soft swirl of hair on my babies’ heads, the thick blanket of leaves under the bicycle tires, or the icicles dripping from the edge of the roof?
Every minute of our lives happens in a location. All our work and our play are tethered to a place and a time. Even the biblical narrative is rooted in a specific place and time, and the human authors take great pains to put a pin in the map as the story unfolds in Anathoth and Nazareth, in Jerusalem and Shiloh, in Bethlehem and Sinai.
Every minute of our lives happens in a location. All our work and our play are tethered to a place and a time. In 2026, I want to be more present to where I am. When I am with the people I love, I want to be all there.
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The Lord Is in this Place
Waking up with a crick in his neck after a hard night on a hard pillow, Jacob remembered the voice of God in his dream of a ladder and admitted, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” (Genesis 28:16) God captured wily Jacob’s attention in Bethel, a specific place which means “the house of God.”1
For me, this country hill in Maine has been “the house of God” for the past thirty-something years. Before that, it was Augusta and Portland. Before that, Toccoa Falls, Warrenton, Costa Mesa, and Bridgewater. While I know it’s true that “this world is not my home, I’m only passing through,” it is also true that all the great realities of holy scripture are lived out here on the ground with people we can touch and see.
These sixteen acres of wooded land have provided the conditions required for my sanctification. This is the holy ground where the roof has leaked, the furnace has failed, and the woodchucks have devoured the green bean plants. It’s also the stable location where we brought home four sweet baby boys, homeschooled them to adulthood, and witnessed the miraculous provision of God for two naive souls with the financial savvy of a houseplant.
This particular location, this sacred space, has gathered the stories, the relationships, and the memories. If I’ve ever been called into service, the burning bush was here. When God pulls back the curtain to reveal truth to my half-blind eyes, this is my Patmos Island.
In 2026, I want to be more present to where I am. When I am with the people I love, I want to be all there. I need to inhabit fully the time and space God has ordained for me to inhabit, to stay present to the emotions that come and the season I’m living through.
Once again, it looks as if my Word of the Year has chosen me, so stay tuned. I’ll be writing one post every month on the theme, and, as usual, I invite you to share your thoughts in the comments—either about the need to be present to your own life or your own Word of the Year for 2026.
Holding You in the Light,
While I know it’s true that “this world is not my home, I’m only passing through,” it is also true that all the great realities of holy scripture are lived out here on the ground with people we can touch and see.
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Photo by Kirk Cameron on Unsplash
- Biblegateway footnote: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2028&version=ESV ↩︎
Living Our Days 
Amen. Thank you for this inspirational message to start the day. Have a blessed week! 🙂
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Such honest truths that hit home and go deep. As one who has to think to keep the feet making that next step, it speaks to so many things. You said it well, “I need to inhabit fully the time and space God has ordained for me to inhabit, to stay present to the emotions that come and the season I’m living through.” It’s a journey each and every day. ~ Rosie
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That is a fabulous WOTY! I try really hard to be present with my family in the moment and only let my mind wander during those times I’m by myself and have set aside for contemplation but it can be so hard to do at times.
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