March 27, 2020 Ramblings

Good News of the Day: It’s been a few days since my last post, so I thought it high time to reconnect. That’s why today’s Ramblings are all about connections. I saw an article this morning about how our mandatory isolation is leading to a religious/spiritual renewal. While I do not doubt that this renewal is in part the result of parents falling to their knees praying for schools to reopen soon, I see something deeper going on here. I think we’re reconnecting with God in very real and lasting ways.

While God remains a mystery, he has revealed himself to us in many ways. Our God isn’t a divine clockmaker who set the world in motion just to leave us to our own devices until time runs out. God is present and active in every moment of our lives—winding us up, greasing the gears, fine-tuning the mechanisms. How do I know? Because I believe the teachings of Scripture and the prophets, I trust my parents, my forbears, my friends, and teachers who believed, and, most of all, because I’ve experienced God’s presence in my life countless times. I’ve been warmed by the comfort of God’s loving embrace in the darkest moments of my life; I’ve been moved by God’s awesome inspiration to tackle challenges I never thought possible; but most importantly, I’ve been filled with God’s blessed assurance “not only that life is worth living but also that it is made to be worth living” (Charles Hefling).

How do we get there? We connect—with God and with each other, starting with God. God is like the electricity that runs through the wires in our walls. He’s always there; we just need to plug in. In many cases, plugging in is simply a matter of paying attention to how God is moving in our lives. We need to ask ourselves, “Where is God in all of this?” Why start with God? Because without God, we are nothing; we wouldn’t exist. God is our life’s breathe, the Spirit that animates us. Without God, we would not be. Without God, we could not love. Everything we are and everything we do begins and ends with God.

You know, the Desert Fathers of ancient times left the hustle and bustle of the big city to reconnect with God. They needed a do-over, a reset, to get their spiritual and material lives in order. After some time of solitude, after they reconnected with God, they became powerful Spiritual Directors whose writings help people reconnect with God to this day. Perhaps our time of social isolation is an opportunity to reconnect with God, to find God’s movements in our lives, and to gain the strength, comfort, and joy we need to make life worth living.

Quote of the Day: “Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10