Singing Praises take Three

 

For Thursdays, I ask you to push pause.  To continue to breathe and be in God’s presence.  Today I invite you to read or sing or prayerfully ponder the third verse of our hymn this week:

 

Praise to the living God, who knows our joy and pain,;

Who shares with us our common life, the sacred and profane

God toils where’re we toil, in home and mart and mill;

And deep within the human heart God leads us forward still.

 

I love that this verse invites us be awake and aware of our joy and pain; that God is with you in the sacred and profane.  What a holy invitation to hold close to our hearts.

Where is there joy today?  It doesn’t have to be leaping or cheering or best-day-ever kind of joy.  It could be the joy of a cup of coffee or causal conversation with a friend.  Notice the quiet joys of life.

Where is there pain today?  Where does it hurt?  Where do your heart break or soul ache?

Where is the holy moments today?  I pray reading these morning meditations are one moment.  But because the holy often shows up disguised as our ordinary life, there can be the sacred everywhere.  Remember, Moses thought it was just another day at work when he came upon the burning bush and heard God’s transforming call to liberation.  Can you be opened to burning bushes today?

Give that truth, there might not be that is, “profane” or “mundane”.  Rather that might be our perspective.  If I dread doing the dishes, I may not notice the grace of warm water or the satisfying sensation of cleaning a dirty dish or how holy it can feel to complete a task.  Ponder if there are places, spaces, or even people you believe God would NEVER show up.  Is there a way for you to open to the sacred that is everywhere?

Or maybe you practice the invitation I gave on Sunday of holding bread, taking and tasting bread, prayerfully pondering the recipe of your life.

May your pausing and pondering be blessed.  May You know deep within your heart that where you are – home, mart, or mill – God is deep within your heart leading you forward still.  Amen.