God Still Speaks

[caption id="attachment_170895" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Image: By Jennifer Murray (2018), Pexels.com, CC0/PD[/caption]

Throughout the country, parents are spending more quality time with their children than any of us ever dreamed of spending. Parents find themselves overseeing schoolwork, cooking all meals for the family, limiting movements out of the house, and keeping siblings from throttling each other as everyone’s tension and anxieties are elevated. Downtime feels non-existent, and quiet time has ceased to exist.

It is so easy, as we assess our daily lives right now, to feel like there is a stillness and quietness on behalf of God, as though He is a silent observer in this time of upheaval.

Yet nothing can be further from the truth.

While our lives are in flux, and we don’t have a lot of quiet moments, it is important for us to remember that in the midst of the craziness and noise, God is still speaking to us.

God speaks in the most gentle, whispered moments of our hearts when we lie in bed at night. He puts gentle messages on our hearts when we steal a moment to ourselves in the bathroom, the laundry room, at the kitchen sink doing dishes. He gently calls us in the deepest moments of stolen silence we manage to grasp before everyone begins waking each morning.

God speaks to us in the loudest moments of our children’s laughter, or the incessant questioning. He speaks through their little mouths as they learn to compliment each other, and in those moments they learn to have compassion with each other. He forcefully speaks to us through the actions which pull us away from our own desires, and center our thoughts solely on them – reminding us that they are integral in our path toward sainthood.

God speaks to us in the most inopportune moments when we would rather be tuning out from the world by delving into the endless, mindless scrolling of social media. He invites us to turn off the period drama we are indulging in, to focus our sight back on the basic pillar of strengthening our relationship with Him – through prayer. He draws our attention in those moments when we are trying to find our patience, at our wit’s end, as we look around our house and have our eyes stumble on the crucifix above the doorway, the image of the Sacred Heart on our wall, or the Bible resting in its spot on the bookshelf.

God speaks to us in the most random moments when we are laughing outrageously at the silliest joke or antics of the younger children. He carries us close to Him when we are sobbing at the sheer weight of responsibility we find ourselves struggling to hold up during these turbulent times. He reaches out to us as we consider ways in which we can assist others, when we feel like we are barely holding our own heads above water.

These days are currently filled with more noise than we could possibly have imagined. Yet, in this time, God is still speaking to each of us. God is still waiting for us. God is still hoping we will invite Him into our lives. While we may be unable to run to Him in the physical church, surrounded by community, He is still close to us.

Rather than turn away from Him, turn to Him and actively seek Him among the noise.

Recognize His longing for you has not changed. Embrace His presence in your daily life, among the pots and pans, the limitless laundry, the unending chores and school work, and all the added stressors.

Our souls long for God, and when we actively seek Him, He will reveal His presence:

In the smile of our little ones …

In the quiet glances between adults in the home …

In the snuggles of a wet nose from a pet who has just been on their seventh walk of the day …

In the sunshine as it peaks through the break in the cloudy sky …

In the words of the latest worship song that crosses your newsfeed …

In between the covers of a new book …

In the words of a blog post you read on the internet …

God is waiting for you to hear His message in this unprecedented time.

He is waiting for you to hear Him when He says you were created for today, for this moment, for this time in history.

While things may be noisy and uncertain, He is still with you, loving you, and encouraging you to turn to Him for the strength and courage only He can provide.

He is waiting for you eagerly, with compassion and mercy.

The question is not what is stopping you from hearing Him. Rather, the better question is, how will you incline the ear of your heart to hear Him better in the days ahead?

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Copyright 2020 AnnAliese Harry