Another Question to Ponder

 

Yesterday, we pondered prayerfully the question, does one’s life give any evidence of an encounter with God?

 

Built and baked into that question is a secondary one, when yesterday did you encounter God?  In whom, where, when, and how did the holy show up disguised as your life in the past twenty-four hours?  I am not talking about angels singing from the realms of glory or Gabriel knocking on your door.  That may happen to you, but in my life when someone knocks on my door, they usually want to sell me something.  Often, I can be passive in prayer.  I think if I just throw some words in the general direction of the divine, that is enough.

But what if, like all relationships, our connection with God asks us for to be intentional, thoughtful, and pay attention?  Relationships need to be tended, curated, and cultivated.  How do we do that with God?

 

To get at that, I wonder, who are some of your sheroes/heroes/guides in the world today?  The person could be living or dead.  This could be family or someone you’ve only met through reading his/her book or heard in a podcast.  This could be an author, painter, singer, leader, or your next-door neighbor.

 

As a matter of fact, the longer the list the better!  Try to come up with 10 people who move something deep within you.  After you list the person’s name, ask why?  What is it about the person that sings to your soul? 

 

Some of the people I admire are positive and resilient because I don’t see those traits in myself.

I admire pastors whose words cause my soul to stir and strangely warm my heart.  They minister to me.

I admire people in our church who show up day-after-day faithfully and have done so for years.

 

Sometimes the way we find who we long to be is to ask ourselves about the people we are drawn toward and why.  Once we have named and claimed this group of saints, we can start to feel surrounded and strengthened and sustained because the chance is good that you are drawn to them because they touched/sparked something that is already in you ~ they held a match near the candlewick of your heart ~ but sometimes we quickly blow that out because we are not confident or certain we could really do this. 

 

You may want to keep this list handy and keep reaching for it in the coming days.  For now, ponder the people who have left an impression on your heart.  Thank God for the saints who continue to inform and inspire our daily living.