The Power Of Quiet Presence

I recently officiated a funeral for a man that was deeply loved by his family. I was really struck by what his son said about him, “When dad was born he received 1 million words and when he died he still had 980,000 of those words.” In short, his dad was a quiet man.

His dad was also a present dad. He attended all the sporting events, even coaching many of the teams. He was quietly present and had a deeply profound impact on his family and church.

Our relationships are becoming less quiet. For many people, presence looks like conflict, arguing, and disagreement. Some people have grown to avoid presence because it is all too stressful.

There is something really powerful about being quietly present. When we practice quiet presence, we learn…

We don’t always have to talk, we can listen.

We don’t have to win, we can allow others to win.

We don’t have to dominant, we can serve.

We don’t have to be great, we can be the least.

People might not know exactly what is on your mind, but they will feel listened to, loved, and served. That might be exactly what our relationships need most right now.