Since moving to Nashville I’ve slowly learned to approach life with a “roll with the punches” attitude. And most of the time I think that’s a good thing. It certainly makes for a less stressful, less frustrating, more enjoyable existence when you don’t let the little things get you bent out of shape.

But I’m beginning to see there’s a dark side of rolling with the punches, of always bracing myself for the next hit. The mindset of being content but always ready for change, laying down roots but always ready to move, can rob me of being fully present in any given moment. 

But how do you live open handedly while also savoring what’s in your hand at the present moment? How do you invest fully & deeply into things that you are always ready to give back to God at any given moment.

Is that what surrender is really about? A constant state of investing your whole heart into a life that you hold with completely open hands? Being 100% present in the current moment while your heart saying “I’m ready for whatever you’ve got, Father”?

Surrender was my word for 2011…I even tattooed it on my wrist a couple of months ago. But lately, I think I’m learning about a whole side of surrender I didn’t know existed. I used to think surrender was all about giving up…or giving to. An emptying of my hands. A laying at God’s feet my desires, wants, plans, possessions, time, relationships, etc. But I’m beginning to wonder if more than a giving to it’s a receiving.

It’s one thing for me to say, “Here are my plans God, do with them as you will” but it’s a different depth of faith to say “Here I am, God, ready to receive whatever you have to offer…my hands, my head, my heart, are all open & ready.” And maybe in the constant posture of humbly & prayerfully ready to receive, faithfully expectant about what the Father has to give, lies the secret to being fully present in any given moment with one hand ready to throw a punch.

Do you live in a constant state of “rolling with the punches”? How do you invest in the present while being open to whatever’s next?