Escape or Engage

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**
 
    We all have our escapes. Daydreaming, self-pity, chocolate, wine, shopping, etc. We have coping mechanisms to escape our present reality. Maybe our present reality is really challenging or maybe it is boring. Maybe our present reality is not what we had hoped so we dream of another. Maybe we are afraid to face the present reality.

    We all struggle with the present from time to time and we look for our escapes. Sometimes we even physically escape. Other times we distance our hearts or our minds.

    Escaping is our way of dishonoring the present. It is our way of saying that the present is not worth it. Or it could be our way of saying the present is too much to face. Sometimes escapes are healthy and helpful. Yet I find myself escaping when I need to be engaging. I dishonor the gift of the present by escaping.

    How about you? Do you find yourself escaping more than find yourself engaging? What do you escape to? How can choosing to be these triggers help you to recognize when your escape is healthy or not? My prayer is that you would be able to engage when God is calling you to engage the present fully.
 
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**