Make room for another one!

Your inner voice is the voice of divinity. To hear it, we need to be in solitude—even in crowded places. –A. R. Rahman


As I sit here, I can hear no fewer than three different bird songs, a mixture of courting and cooing as spring is finally taking hold in earnest.

Buds and blooms are everywhere: the striking reds and pinks of azaleas and geraniums; spidery, almost ghostlike dogwood branches heavy with their white, four-petal flowers. Even the lawns are into this Color Game as dandelions and violas creep into view.

Today my husband is a Guest of Honor at Dads & Donuts for our giggly granddaughter, the one who just loves to get right up close, look at your face and announce, “You have hair in your nose!” Excited voices mix and mingle with the sounds of teachers striving to maintain decorum. Smells of doughnuts and juice fill the air.

Blessings on top of blessings, coming so quickly I can scarcely take it all in. My heart is filled with appreciation for the vast diversity of ways in which God reveals God’s self to us. Sometimes, like today, it can’t be missed. Gratitude comes easily, even above the noise and busyness of the world.

Imagine, for a moment, what our heart’s eye might see if we deliberately stopped, stepped away long enough to allow God to deposit just one more drop of love into our overflowing cups, our lives already crowded with blessing and kindness.

Squish together closer. Make room for one more blessing. Here it comes!

Monday Stop. Look. Listen. Breathe deeply. Pause. Repeat. Give thanks. Joshua 10:12-13

Tuesday As you are out among people today, look with your heart’s eye for the beauty of God’s children in each person you meet. Pause and pray for one in who the Almighty may be more difficult to see. . . . Proverbs 30:18-19

Wednesday Do a little something for someone else: pick some flowers, offer cookies or companionship. Listen for their unspoken needs. Proverbs 30:24-28

Thursday In Genesis, God gave Adam and his descendants dominion over all Creation. Reflect on what this means, and the role you play in this Plan. Genesis 1:28-31

Friday Find yourself a quiet space and watch the sun come or go. Allow yourself to experience the vastness of space. Give thanks for our faithful God. Psalm 19

Saturday As you pause today to pray for yourself, remind yourself of God’s enormity and of God’s deep love for you, personally. Give thanks—and remind a friend. Invite them to church. Zephaniah 3:8

Sunday What brings you to your house of worship week after week? What else? As you sit in the quiet of this space, name in your heart the things that inexplicably draw you back. 1 Chronicles 16:23-25


Not in the clamor of the crowded street, not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, but in ourselves, are triumph and defeat. --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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