Stop. Look! Listen. . . .

The world is so full of a number of things
I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.
 –Robert Louis Stevenson


For Christians, the sacraments of baptism and Eucharist remind us of God’s intimate presence in our lives. They are sacred moments when God seems this close, and we wish, sometimes, that that closeness could go on forever.

Jean Pierre de Caussade coined a wonderful phrase: the Sacrament of the Present Moment. This moment, this day will never come again, and God is present here, as well, in intimate ways that will never come to pass in just the same way, ever again. Every moment of every day is sacred and wonderful. I wonder how often we become so busy, we forget to stop and appreciate God's abundant generosity. When was the last time you simply—stopped?

Time is sometimes compared to a flowing river. We trail our fingers through the waters or stand in it ankle-deep, but as we wander downstream, the water is not the same water we were in before. Always flowing, always advancing, never to return again—and changed by our presence therein.

This will be your challenge for the week. Five senses. For five days, a chance to experience, in deliberate stillness, God’s Holy Presence in your life. Slow down and enjoy.


Monday Bundle up and head outdoors. Pause, tip your head back and look up. Now lower your gaze to the ground. What did you see? 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Tuesday Indoors or out, in your home or another place, pause for several minutes and listen deeply. Beyond the voices and traffic, tune your ear to an inner Voice. What do you hear? Isaiah 64:4

Wednesday This time of year has its own peculiar smell. It can be hard to pick up on the “outdoorsy fragrance” of winter. Try it. Can you describe it? 2 Corinthians 2:15-16

Thursday We require food for our very survival. Today, be very deliberate in choosing what you eat. As you eat, put your fork down between bites and really taste what you are eating. 1 Peter 2:2-3.

Friday Every surface of our bodies is sensitive to touch or contact. Hands, feet, elbows—all designed to tell us what our world “feels like.” Be aware of this today as you wash, as you walk, as you make your way in the world. Mark 5:24-34

Saturday As you pray for yourself today, be aware of the “complete package” that is you. Give thanks. Psalm 139:1-13

Sunday Look around you, Enjoy the moment with another. Luke 14:12-14


No one sees a flower, not really. To look at a flower takes time, like having a friend takes time. –Georgia O’Keeffe

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spiritual dehydration

  Inside myself is a place where I live all alone, and that is where I renew my springs that never dry up. –Pearl S. Buck   The past two years (at least) have been exhausting, haven’t they? We had a pandemic that physically left us anxious and afraid. Our churches, where we go for nourishment, were closed or online longer than we wanted—and even now, we are careful. Politically, we have been divided against one another, and those wounds are still bleeding in many cases. We need to take care of ourselves. And it’s never been more difficult. What to do? How do I make time in our busy schedules—for me ? The simple answer: Whatever it takes. Remember when we would fly to a vacation destination? How the flight attendant would remind us that if the cabin loses pressure, the oxygen masks would drop down out of the ceiling? And that before we offer to help anyone else, we need to have our own masks in place ? Good advice for life in general. Today: Pause. Take inventory ...
Read more

What are you waiting for?

  The waiting is the hardest part. –Tom Petty   We spend a lot of time waiting. Waiting for the coffee to finish dripping. Waiting for the light to turn green. Waiting for the next available agent. It’s inevitable, really. We cannot always be first, and if we aren’t first, we’ll have to wait. But I think the more important thing is to ask yourself: How am I at waiting? Do I find myself getting anxious and fidgety? Am I worrying about things not going the way I really need them to go? Is my attitude rubbing off on people around me? The best way to wait is not to worry where we are in line, or gripe about wasted time. The best way to wait—is to be right there , in the moment of waiting. The disciples waited in fear; we wait in hope. Why not use this waiting time to pray? Welcome God’s presence into your heart. Ask God to bring you into the moment. Inquire what God would ask of you in this moment . Thank God for wisdom, patience, humor. . . . Take a d-e...
Read more

Don't be afraid.

Living is a great deal more than simply not dying. It is carrying out a mission, committing oneself to fashion some meaning that will attain eternity. –Leonardo Boff When asked, “What are you afraid of?” we offer a myriad of answers: snakes, spiders, flying in an airplane. But when pressed, many people, believers and non-believers alike, will admit that the one thing they fear most, at the core of their being, is death. Most of us enjoy having control over our lives, and frankly, we have very little control over, or way of knowing, how or when our earthly journey will end. And we have even fewer concrete answers about what will happen next. We have the profession of our faith and the occasional “crossing-over” story—but. No wonder death is near the top of that list. But sometimes, as I look around, it seems like people are less fearful about dying—and more afraid of living. Really cutting loose and enjoying our time together as human beings privileged to live in God’s am...
Read more