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. To find them all, CLICK HERE. 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 
This is so, so good. My word for this year became evident in late December: Intentional. I have yet to organize my thoughts enough to form a blog post about it, but this post today is just what I needed to get my thoughts going. On Wednesday nights at church we’ve been learning about what it means to be a sojourner. This was a good reminder that although this world isn’t our home, it most surely is where our faith is lived out. Thank you.
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I really identify with that word “sojourner.” It’s a tricky balancing act to love the people and the other gifts of this world without turning them into idols. We certainly need divine intervention to order our loves and to travel well through this world while anticipating the next.
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Amen. Thank you for this inspirational message to start the day. Have a blessed week! 🙂
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Melissa, I so appreciate the way you show up here, always with encouragement.
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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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Great point: every single day we have to make the choice, and I’d say maybe even more often than that.
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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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I agree! There’s always some task or some persistent thought tugging at the edges of my mind, and it takes real discipline to set it aside and attend to what’s right in front of me.
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So true when you look back, and I too have noticed some things that I didn’t realize or overlooked. There were even times I overlooked God, but he was always present so I think that word is a perfect one you’ve chosen for the year. I use to choose a word but haven’t done that in the last few. I was looking back and the one I chose one year was Renew, and I think I’ve been trying to do that one for a while. Have a happy week.
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It’s fun to hear that a word from the past is still working on you and in you!
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I don’t often pay much attention to geography in the Bible, but I am coming to realize it’s importance. Since God put each of us in specific times and places, it makes sense that He meets with us, speaks to us, and works in and through us in those places. In an Advent book I just finished (Mercy Mild by Josh Taylor), one of the quotes that stood out to me was “God’s writing poetry with geography. The town where David started his search for a place to house God’s presence is exactly where God chose to show up in person.”
“Present” is a good word. We’re so distractible these days, we need reminders to stop and savor the moments.
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Funny you should say that about geography, because I’m so directionally challenged that I even ignore a lot of place descriptions in books.
I’m looking forward to what “present” is going to teach me in 2026!
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Michele, I was so encouraged by your posts about “wisdom” last year, and I have a feeling your journey with “present” will have the same effect on me.
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You encourage me as well, Lois!
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We DO miss much because our minds take us someplace else, away from where we are in the moment. We miss what God would have us experience in the present–his presence, a blessing right in front of us, an opportunity for spirit-lifting worship, and more. The secular world has much to say about mindfulness these days, but God has encouraged sacred mindfulness since he inspired Paul to recommend keeping our thoughts on what is excellent, praiseworthy, and more (Philippians 4:8). I’ll look forward to your posts on this subject, Michele. With you I want to become more alert to evidence of God and what he’s doing.
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Absolutely! God is always doing 10,000 things, And we miss so much when we get inside our heads.
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‘all the great realities of holy scripture are lived out here on the ground with people we can touch and see’
Wow. Amazing how photos and memories and stories lived can ground us to what matters most. I kind of miss those days of real, faded, creased photographs. The black and white ones especially. Maybe it’s time to sift through them yet again. Not to organize, but to appreciate what God has done.
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Yes, always wrapping everything in the cushioning fabric of appreciation.
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This is a very meaningful “word of the year” and a powerful reminder to be present and aware of God’s voice and movement in the here and now, in the place where we are. Surely the presence of God is in this place – wherever we happen to be! – but like Jacob, we often don’t fully appreciate that. Thanks for sharing!
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It’s the perfect word for this hair-on-fire, frequently distracted, and always in a hurry woman.
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For this life-long daydreamer, I can certainly relate to the struggles of being present!
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It’s a REAL challenge! I am glad you understand!
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I still have boxes and boxes of photos too. And actually I still print some of my digital ones for albums. There’s something communally satisfying to look at a photo album with someone instead of scrolling through our phones.
Your word is very meaningful to me this year too. I want to keep shifting back to the present from wherever my mind takes me. I’m glad you have your sacred space in Maine to be present in.
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“Communally satisfying”–I LOVE that, and vote for that every time over the solitary scrolling.
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Although my word is rooted, I’m trying to be more present this year and to notice a lot more of what is going on around and within me. Your choice of ‘present’ and your words strengthens my resolve too.
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Rooted and Present are definitely sister words!
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