Bizarre

Sue Monk Kidd, the best selling author of The Secret Life of Bees, has a book called God's Joyful Surprise: Finding Yourself Loved that has been keeping me inspired recently. Pastor Shawn gave me the book because Kidd's spiritual biography is similar to my own as physical limitations led her to an intimate relationship with God. I'm only halfway through the book but at the moment, Kidd is inspiring me to look for God everywhere and at all times. This might seem like an impossible feat, but this sentence keeps coming back to me, "It is a fearful awareness that you and I are responsible for the extent we will be present to God" (Kidd, 128). Today, on my fourth Sabbath, I'm trying especially hard to be present to God and at lunch through the glass windows of Arby's, I noticed two layers of clouds that were drifting in opposite directions, one layer above the other. I've never seen clouds do that-- while I could understand why it was happening due to wind currents, it seemed bizarre. It reminded me of how often we humans busily pass each other instead of walking together-- I can understand why we're all so busy, but it seems bizarre. We're missing out on each other's lives. We're missing out on the love that we have to give and can receive. We're missing out. As this week starts, I hope I can be more aware of God's presence and try to walk with others rather than pass them in a rush.