Find a sparrow...

"Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God..."
Luke 12:6

I actually thought of this reading this summer as I gazed at the tree in my neighbor's backyard. Oh, I didn't tell you about the tree? Well, after my retreat, I got more in the habit of just sitting in my backyard, in silence. I finally noticed, after living here four years, a beautiful pine tree towering over my yard. It has pine cones that hang from the branches like Christmas ornaments. Somehow, I had never noticed it! One day, as I sat out there, the sun was just coming up, shining extra light right on that tree. I noticed a small bird, in what I presumed to be a nest, deep in the branches. I watched that bird for a long time, just appreciating that it had chosen that tree to nest. I thought of that tiny bird and how God was completely aware of that bird and how precious that creature was to God. It was so special for me to have this front row seat to God's creation, right here in my backyard! It was a gift. The gift was the awareness, finally, of all that was going on around me, that I hadn't really noticed before and wouldn't have noticed ever, had I not gone on retreat and learned about just sitting still with God. This weekend, take any opportunity to notice a "sparrow" in your world. Find the time to see and appreciate some tiny, yet profound manifestation of God. Love, heidi

Join your soul...

"I wait with longing for the Lord, my soul waits for his word.
My soul looks for the Lord more than sentinels for daybreak."
Psalm 130:5-6

I was thinking about this today and it seems to me that, sometimes, my soul is a separate entity to me. I'm busy, running around, doing what I do and my soul is quietly, patiently waiting for the Lord. It is always a wonderful experience when the rest of me quietly calms and waits, too. My soul definitely has the right idea! Today, let's think about our souls waiting and longing for the Lord. Can the rest of us join them? Can we spend some time today just sitting with the Lord, waiting and longing for God's word? Love, heidi

When God is silent...

"A wonderful thing about God's silence is that the contagion of His stillness gets into you and you become perfectly confident--'I know God has heard me.' His silence is the proof that He has. As long as you have the idea that God will bless you in answer to prayer."
Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest"

I know I've learned so much this year about my need for being silent, but what is this about God being silent? I don't want God to be silent! I want God's answers and assurances! I want God to be obviously present! We can't BOTH be silent, for cryin' out loud! Or can we? This reading made me think about the times I have prayed and prayed and the answers just didn't come. For a long time. It seemed as though God hadn't heard me. If God had heard me, why didn't the situation change? Why didn't I get what I wanted? What Oswald Chambers is trying to convey here, I think, is that God's message may come wrapped in silence. And, when that happens, those of us who really trust God will be able to see God's presence in that silence. God is silent, so He must be working on it. That is faith, my Friends! Today, let's think about the times we have experienced God's silence and praise God for it, as Oswald Chambers suggests in the rest of this reading. For if God can trust us with His silence, God truly speaks to us. Love, heidi