Word Wednesdays

I want to take a look at three words in this beautiful hymn.

In the very room where you are reading these words, the writer proclaims that there is quite enough:
love
joy
power

To be honest, we may not realize that reality.  We can miss it because we are wrapped up in our own thoughts or troubles.  Quick example ~ a family dinner where my mind is still back on some church problem, the wheels are spinning searching for a solution, I miss the fact that through my family God's love, joy and power were in the very room where I was.  Honestly, I was physically there, but not mentally and emotionally there, which is why I missed the moment.  We can miss the love, joy, and power because someone else's brokenness is casting a shadow.  Quick example ~ we have all been in rooms where someone yells or throws a temper tantrum or is abusive.  Such human hurtfulness and harm can block the beauty of God being in the very room.  We often ask where is God rather than why we, as humans, do what we do to willingly deny or dismiss the divine?

How do you stay open to God's love, even when someone else is doing everything possible to make that feel like mission impossible?
How do you practice joy, even when there is so much evidence to the contrary?
How do we stay rooted in the power and promise of God this day?

This is where practices of prayer, worship, holy conversations, and fierce faithful friendship come into play.  These are not just reserved for Sunday mornings in a church building, but these are the foundation of holy faithful formation.  Prayer is more than a monologue lobbing our wishes toward God.  Prayer is an opening to God, listening, attuning our hearts to God's presence.  Worship is the practice of prayer and praise.  In one way, we pray each and every day which leads us to worship in community which leads us back to praying each and every day.  It is an ever spiral of deepening our dance with the divine.  We need holy conversation with fierce faithful friends so that we don't get caught in individualistic piety.  I need you to both comfort and challenge me.  To push my understandings and my soul in new directions through both great love and prophetic speech.

To be sure, this isn't some guarantee that life will always be amazing.  But like a basketball player who stay after to practice free throws 100s of times, every day, our souls need to strengthen our spiritual muscles to be open to the love, joy, and power of the One who is persistently presence.

May there be more than a trace of God's grace in your life as you discover new ways to pray, worship, talk, and connect with others. 

Blessings ~~