My husband Tom and I have just returned from one of our quarterly prayer retreats. For me this has been a much needed time of renewal and refreshment.
These last few months have not been a good season of listening for me. Much of what I have heard is distracting noise. And much of what I have seen is more pressure and work.This seeking after God is simple and ordinary, yet profound and powerful. God’s holy song is present everywhere but I have not heard it and I will not hear it unless I pause, take a deep breath, look and listen.
What is Your Response
Find a quiet place without distractions where you can sit still for a few minutes and focus on the presence of God. Take a few deep breaths in and out. Sit in the stillness of the moment and reflect back over the last few days.
What do you hear? What aspects of your days cries out to you with the voice of God? Where have you allowed the divine whispers to be drowned out by distractions?
What do you see? Does the world around glow with the divine image or is it darkened by the clutter of a busy life? Is there anything that you sense God is asking you to change.
A couple of days ago someone sent me this fascinating article about how going through a doorway wipes out memory. We move from one room to another and forget what we are looking for. It is called an event boundary. And as I return from retreat I am afraid that I have passed through a doorway that will erase my memory of the changes I intended to make in my life. Unfortunately the only solution the article had was to name what we were looking for as we move though the doorway in the hope that it will stick.
I feel I need to name my resolutions too, not just as I pass through this doorway but repeatedly. A little like the Israelites who were instructed to write the command to love God on the doorposts of their houses (Deut 6:9), so they would not forget it.
What helps me to do this is my weekly journalling practice. For years I have faithfully responded to the questions: What and I grateful for, What am I struggling with and What bears the fingerprints of God?
One of the new questions this season raises for me is: How faithful have I been to the disciplines to which I committed myself, not just in my spiritual life but in all of life? I realize that before I can take the question seriously, I need to be more intentional about the practices that will shape my life in this coming season.
I am reminded again of Pope Francis’ words
every single action of a Christian is to be a step closer and closer to God and to one’s neighbour.
The true purpose of life is the journey towards God and towards neighbours. When I am too busy, too distracted, too focused on tasks, I forget that. When I intentionally open my eyes and unstop my ears so that I truly look and listen and allow each step to take me closer to God and neighbour, the revelation is awe inspiring.
What is your response?
What doorways have you passed through that made you forget God’s intention for you? What practices help you to remember God’s commands and the purpose of your life journey? Is there a response that God is asking of you at this time?
Watch the video below and end with a time of prayer for a renewed commitment to the ways of God.