Find your own elephant!


Prayer is the most concrete way to make our home in God.
--Henri J. M. Nouwen


You probably know I have a thing for elephants. In seminary, in one class, elephants became the absolutely perfect (for me) illustration of how prayer should work. We have more elephants in this house than you can imagine.

Did you know I also have a thing for geese?

That’s right. Dirty, honky, poopy geese. Geese that will bite the hand that attempts to feed them. Geese that run at you hissing and flapping their wings.

Geese-- that are incredibly protective of their family. Geese—that mate for life, and mourn when their mate is killed. Geese—who fly in perfect formation, so no one goose has to work overly hard for overly long. When I see a pair or more of geese flying overhead, or hear their honking when I drive with the car windows down, it sets my heart at peace. This, for me, is a way God chooses to remind me of God’s presence.

But my geese aren’t necessarily your geese. My pachyderm isn’t your pachyderm. God will find a perfect way to show up in your life that is nothing at all like the way God appears in mine. But you have to open your eyes. And your heart.

Lent is the perfect time to discover what the Natives might call your “spirit animal.” Make an effort, over the next six weeks, to be open. Let God steer your vision. God is at work, and God will show you where you are needed. Open your eyes!


Monday Begin the week with a big prayer for unity of understanding and healing among the nations of the world. Give thanks for diversity of thought. Genesis 2:15-17

Tuesday Our own nation stands divided in many ways: over wages, healthcare and more. Pray, again, for healing of mind and spirit. Genesis 3:1-7

Wednesday The great state of Ohio is clearly not free from division. Pray fiercely for the leadership of your state. Allow God to speak to your soul. Psalm 32:1-7

Thursday Pray today for your neighbors in the community in which you live. Pray for a unified vision among community leaders and schools. Psalm 32:8-11

Friday How is your soul today? Where are you at peace? Where do you sense conflict? Ask God to unite your heart with God’s. Romans 5:12-19

Saturday As you pray for yourself today, ask God where you are called to bring unity. Ask God to guide you. Matthew 4:1-2

Sunday Pray for The Christian Church. Listen and discern where Jesus is leading. Pray for courage to follow the Christ. Greet one another this morning in love. Matthew 4:3-11

When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable. 
–Walt Disney

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