Presence Matters...

Last weekend my Dad decided to do something we probably should all do.  He decided to be present.  Let me back up.  For the past 8 years of my life, my Dad and I have had the opportunity to sing in the Ordained Ministers Choir at our District Assembly, since we were serving on the same district for our denomination.  It's not been something my Dad is dying to do each year, but he has done it because it's been important to me.

So this year, when I moved 8 hours away to a brand new District, just two weeks before our Assembly, the reality sank in that our "run together," was officially over.  We had been given the privilege to serve as Pastors on the same District for more time than most Father/Daughter Pastor duos are given, and I knew that I should be grateful, but change was still really hard.

About a month ago, my Dad called me up on the phone to tell me he had booked tickets to come to Boston to sing with me in the Ordination Choir on my new District.  I know that my Dad knew I was would be excited, but I am not sure he knew how much it meant that he was willing to just be present with me.

Last weekend was our District Assembly, and while my Dad didn't sit through every meeting, he showed up when it mattered.  Knowing I knew very few people, he sat with me through the first session and we laughed a lot together.  He invited me to lunch with some of his friends (which ironically he knows way more people than I do here), but we didn't just sit there together, he led the way in some significant conversations that personally encouraged me that day.   He bought me coffee when I needed it, waited with me while I finished work stuff, spent time talking the very people I am just forming friendships with, and was just present.

Friday night, when it came time for us to sing in the ordination choir (which by the way required us to sit up on a stage in front of everyone for 2 hours...not a good thing for us tiny bladder Long family), I looked at my Dad and felt incredibly grateful that he chose to show up when it mattered in my life.   It's not just my Dad either.  It's people like my mom, my sisters, my youth pastor, my mentors, coaches and friends that really get me, that have shown up when I have needed it the most.  They chose to be present when it mattered.

I could have sung in that ordination choir without my Dad.  It wasn't like I felt alone, was fearful, or nervous, or even felt out of place.  But my Dad knew that it mattered to me.  So he chose to be present.

I remember showing up to a girl's 8th grade graduation with a few of our youth workers last year, thinking it really wasn't a huge deal.  She came from a pretty tough life and we thought we would surprise her.  When she saw 6 youth workers in the back of the auditorium that night as she marched in, she literally ran into the kid in front of her.  She's still talking about that night.

We don't always think our presence matters, but the truth is, our presence screams..."I'm with you, I believe in you, and I'm for you."  And in a world where people are searching, that might just be a game changer.