Things change. Time passes. Does anything stay the same?

Today I am taking a few moments at my desk to remember. Just to remember who I am and where I come from. Just to remember what I have now and where I am.

For a moment I am not going to imagine where I am going or how I might get there.

I am taking a moment to notice what my body feels like, what’s happening in it right now. Noticing is a kind of remembering, too.

Today is the second week of Advent, the time when we prepare again to welcome God into the world. It’s a good thing to do repeatedly, as we often forget that God is here. Advent is a time to remember that God is here and that God comes to us again and again, no matter how many times we forget to notice.

Centering in the body is a good way to remember. It can wake us up to the present moment.

I can let myself do this if I make a list of the pressing things I am setting aside for the moment, and if I know that I will pick them up later and attend to them responsibly. But I don’t need to obsess about them now!

I still my breathing, making longer out breaths and taking slower in breaths. I consciously release the tension in my back, neck and shoulders. I relax my mouth, even let the edges of my lips curl up a little. My yoga teacher says, it’s okay to smile when you practice!

I have been ordained as a teaching elder, a minister of word and sacrament, for 10 years, as of yesterday, December 8, 2012. I am just me. Nothing special. And completely precious. Like every other human being that God has created.

Some things change. But that one thing never changes. Today, I take a moment to remember.

Nothing special. Completely precious.