sunday sharing

When Jim and I were going through training for the diaconate, we would meet regularly in a faith-sharing group with other couples who were in our ordination class. One of the things we would talk about was our “God moments”, times when we saw God’s love for us in the events of our lives. Our classmates were always eager and excited to share their experiences. Jim and I were never very good at that. We never had much of anything to say. Maybe we thought we could only see God in big things, and those moments only happen rarely. I envied the others who could see God in small things. An act of kindness, a song on the radio, or a butterfly on the wing, could be seen as God telling them that He loves them. They could see Him in the small wonders happening every day.

In faith, we know that God is always with us and is showing us that He loves us. This is the God we have been taught to call “Daddy”. As a mother, I know how many things I do each day out of love for my family. I also know that my kids don’t always notice. Sometimes it can be hard to notice the quiet wonders that are God’s reminders that He loves us. Our daily to-dos, our everyday worries, the ugliness we see too often in the news can blind us. It’s hard to hear the quiet whisper in the midst of the storm. It can be hard to believe that God is present in the middle of all this messiness. God can seem distant, because we can let the noise of our lives drown him out. 

However, with God’s grace, we can all open our eyes to His presence in our lives. I personally have been trying to follow the Examen, which is a spiritual practice created by St. Ignatius. You carefully review the events of the day to see God’s presence in them. I have been praying for the grace to help me notice. Slowly my vision is becoming clearer. I can see God’s love for me through my daughter smiling and saying “Thank you,” when I pay her a compliment or do a favor, in a caress from my husband, in my son sharing his day with me. I even saw a butterfly on wing, just as I was wondering about whether God was around.

I hope that we all know that God is with us in the noise of our everyday lives, showing us His kindness and His love. Our days are filled with quiet wonders, and with His grace, we can see each and every one of them. 

Therese Pauwels