The Gift of the Moment

Those seemingly ordinary moments of wonder in your life—when you are arrested by the sunset or swell of music or your child’s face, and the line between you and everything blurs—are not throw-away moments. They are actually portals into the sacred nature of things.
—Valarie Kaur

My spirituality has always been deeply embodied and grounded in my very ordinary life. This may have come from being thrust into motherhood at an early age, but time just never stops—and it is precious.

In my young twenties, spirituality was early morning nursing with my baby while contemplating what I was reading in Scripture. It was kneeling on my yoga mat while that same baby boy took a nap—wrestling with what I was reading and how it didn’t line up with the religion I witnessed around me. And then it was considering CAC’s Daily Meditations while I washed the dishes from dinner.

I would lie down with my boys because I couldn’t get them to nap unless I physically joined them. As my mind slowed while listening to their breath, I would consider God’s closeness to us. Something about the steady rhythm of their inhales and exhales quieted everything in me and made God feel impossibly near: My mother’s heart and closeness to her children. The way I was able to give sustenance to my babies. The way Love sustained me. The way I rocked them and held them close to my heart—the way Love rocked me and held me close.

This spirituality of mine, while partnering closely with sacred words, lives in my body. It’s the breath inside me—or the breath of my children against me. It’s the heartbeat I feel in my chest. It’s the movement of my feet as I check on my children one last time before bed. It’s my hand on my heart when I feel the pain of watching my child’s heart break.

In a world that often feels loud, fractured, and urgent, I find myself returning again and again to these quiet moments of presence. While my boys are now teens, the same small moments draw me back to a grounded place.  

My good news comes from sitting in the present gift of a moment that has been offered to me: the companionship of my family, the sacred service of present parenthood, the stinky feet near me after a walk together around the neighborhood to get some fresh air.

Again and again, I am reminded that the sacred does not wait for extraordinary moments to appear.  

The invitation is present: The gift of smallness. The gift of the moment.

Jessie Jones is the Managing Director of Operations and Technology at the CAC, where she oversees the systems and operations that help bring CAC’s mission to life. She lives in Albuquerque with her husband and two sons.

The Center for Action and Contemplation’s mission is to introduce Christian contemplative wisdom and practices that support transformation and inspire loving action. In this issue of the Mendicant, we are honored to share with you articles from five members of CAC’s community about what loving action looks like in their lives.