Photon Farms: Staying In The Moment

An Internet favorite, this painting is a slightly different perspective on Jesus helping Peter out of the water. He had sunk down in it because he took his eyes off Jesus and started looking at the waves. Yes, Jesus is standing on top of the water, reaching down into the water to pull him out. Who can't relate to that drowning feeling?

Interestingly enough, this is one of the few images that we can connect you to the actual artist who painted it. Please support Yongsung Kim by clicking here and purchasing his work if you are so moved! He has many other beautiful paintings in addition to the one shown here.

On the flip side of the image you'll find Moment Prayers that I've used a lot over the last few years. They are simple and sing a bit like nursery rhymes, but they work when I remember to use them.

A more traditional view of the
same biblical scene.

For me at least, it is all about staying in the present moment as much as possible. C.S. Lewis says in the Screwtape letters that God wants humans:

"to attend chiefly to two things, to eternity itself, and to that point of time which they call the Present. For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity."

Getting there is the hard part, for one must release the past moments to God's care and completely trust Him to transform them into something beautiful and good. Then with future moments, especially the dreaded ones, trusting that He is already there waiting, ready to give counsel on how to behave lovingly and ready to give comfort should it prove painful, for after all, He has endured a bit of pain along the way and knows how it feels to be unfairly treated. He goes before us into every moment (Mt. 28:7).

Bottom line, and this is important to anyone, but especially those of us with serious abandonment issues, He will never let us go through it alone. Even when I step out of the boat and start looking at the waves and sink under the waters, he smiles and reaches down through and pulls me back up. He never leaves me.

Father Mike Schmitz delivered a really good sermon on the story behind this icon. Listen to it here.

Click here to download or listen to the Moment Prayers intoned.
Click here to download or listen to the Moment Prayers spoken.

[Recorded past, future, present. Beginning by letting go of the past and then acknowledging that Jesus is already there waiting for us in any future moment, dreaded or otherwise, we then center back to the present moment and strive to stay there to do the next loving thing He moves us to do.]