Paying attention as we move about life can give us stunning revelations the Divine. I'm struck by how God can meet us in such disparate places from day to day. One comfortable place for me to encounter God is in the quiet space of my study/office in the early morning. Yet, I encountered God recently in a very different place. My husband and I had gone to visit a friend of ours, a father of five children (four of them still living at home) after his wife died unexpectedly at home. The devastation and grief were palpable. The cries of his heart pierced mine in a way that went to my core. It's hard to explain, but in the moment, somehow the profound grief spoke to my soul with the language of profound love and I was overwhelmed with a sense of God's nearness. To try to put words to it - the essence of it was God leaning into this friend's unspeakable pain with God's own grief, tenderness, and care. A heart-wrenched God was there with us.
Sometimes folks will say that God "showed up" here or there. I've likely said it, too. But this morning I'm thinking about how God is already wherever we go and it's our great privilege and calling to look and listen for God there. Sometimes it's described as there being "little altars everywhere" in this world.
I like that. May we recognize a few more altars in the places we go and the people we meet today.
Deep peace to you today.
Ruth
