Quiet, pondering...

"It takes time to separate the strands of conformity and call, time to see where God's persistent longing is leading us."
Rachelle Linner, "Give Us This Day"

Wait, God's longing for us? I thought it was all about our longing for God? God gives us the deep longing to do what we are to do and the buck stops there, right?  But I love  pondering the truth that God longs deeply for us to "separate the strands of conformity and call." Beautiful, that. It's not always (or is it ever?) a clear-cut answer, how we are to serve God. Sometimes we may be invited to make a big change and uproot to a new place. Other times, we are to find how to serve in the midst of our current living situation. But the idea that God is longing for us to go deep and figure that out is stunning. How do we know we have made the choice that God is longing for us to make? I was told once in Spiritual Direction that we are gifted with a peace within when we are where we belong, doing what we are beckoned to do. A peace fills us, and while it doesn't completely smooth out our road, we are given what we need to traverse the road. Today, as we approach mid-January, let's take some quiet time to separate the strands, in our own lives, between conformity and call. Are we being called to something new? Is God longing for us to do something different? Is God calling us to a deeper peace than may be available if we are just plodding through life? Unplug and light a candle to pray about this...these winter nights are perfect for quiet, pondering prayer! Love, heidi