I have had times in my life where I have struggled to find time to think. When the busyness of all that must be accomplished, the tiredness that accompanies such doing, and the mental exhaustion that follows seems to suck away all possibility of thought, much less deep thought. And I find that the time that I spend with God is more hurried and as a consequence, he appears more distant.
Continue reading “The good that lies before us”People of time and the timeless God
Some people seem to be inherently patient, they are the ones who take their time, and who let others take their time. They are slow to frustrate, hesitant to complain. Wherever they go, they bring peace and the gift of space and time. I am not one of them. At least not naturally. Though I hope I am slowly changing.
Continue reading “People of time and the timeless God”The lenses that we look through
A year or two ago, I listened to a sermon in which the way we see God was discussed. To be fair, I am not even sure if that was the main point of the message, but it struck me and stuck with me. The lens through which we see God clearly has profound ramifications. For it determines how we relate to Him, and also to others.
But what occurred to me then, and has sat with me ever since, is that identifying this lens is undoubtedly both challenging and complicated. For we see God through our eyes, our experience, prejudices, preconceptions, through what others have told us, what we have read and heard. Beyond doubt, all these things colour our perceptions. While we will never see perfectly, this is something we must be aware of, and seek, wherever possible, to overcome. For if we fail to do so, we may end up following a God who is not.
Continue reading “The lenses that we look through”The hope of the practice of the presence of God
For as long as I can remember the most fundamental thing I’ve known about reality is that there is an all-powerful, all-loving God who is attentive to us and present in all. This is the bedrock truth influencing and overshadowing everything else.
But, for me, this awareness about God has been partnered with an enduring frustration. Why can’t I retain awareness of God and God’s presence as I live through my life each day? If God holds this prime position in reality, then shouldn’t this colour everything? Yet, much of the time, how I experience the world – what draws and retains my attention, where my thoughts dwell, how my feelings are influenced, the sensations in my body – seems disconnected from that fundamental truth.
Continue reading “The hope of the practice of the presence of God”