“God is in the kitchen, sitting quietly over a cup of coffee. God is on the street corner, waiting for the light to change. God is at the bar, watching the game on TV. God is in the beauty shop, listening to the latest stories. There is no place where we are that God is not.” —Steven Charleston, Daily Facebook email.
I sometimes share with spiritual friends this short writing by Bishop Steven Charleston from his daily Facebook page, when they cannot seem to find any answers to the question, “So, where do you see God working in your life?” I suggest an exercise at the end of the day of writing down places they have been, people they have met and would like to remember, and any feelings or thoughts about the presence of God during their day. It is important to write it down if possible. Writing takes things out of our body and mind and into our tangible world. Some think it is silly and never do it. Others find it helpful to begin to see and feel a connection they think they have lost that is always there right beside them, all day … and night.
The church at which I serve is on a corner with a stop light. Recently our family minister, Luke, started putting a short “stop light prayer” on our church’s electronic sign by the stop light. We weekly hear of people whose day changes when they stop just for a second to connect to our God who is always there. Briefly stopping what we are doing and becoming aware of creation around us is our first step out of ourselves and into the life of knowing and feeling the perpetual presence of God.
Joanna. joannaseibert.com
