A number of years ago I was profoundly impacted upon reading "The Practice of the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence. Through that reading I learned a bit of how to commune with God throughout the humdrum, exciting, disappointing and meaningful moments of my day. But somehow, 3 children and 2 international moves later, I have lost the jewel that Brother Lawrence introduced me to.
Recently I came upon some journal entries by Frank Laubach, a missionary in the early part of the last century, in which he shares his process of learning to experience God continually throughout His days, finding the "undiscovered continents of spiritual living." I am inspired to return to that precious place again--talking to and listening to my Lord throughout the day.
March 23, 1930:
We can keep two things in mind at once. Indeed we cannot keep one thing in mind more than half a second. Mind is a flowing something. It oscillates. Concentration is merely the continuous return to the same problem from a million angles. So my problem is this: Can I bring God back in my mind-flow every few seconds so that God shall always be in my mind as an after image, shall always be one of the elements in every concept and precept? I choose to make the rest of my life an experiment in answering this question. I do not invite anybody else to follow this arduous path. I wish many might. We need to know, for example, Can a laboring man successfully attain this continuous surrender to God? Can a man working at a machine pray for people all day long, and at the same time do his task efficiently? Can a mother wash dishes, care for the babies, continuously talking to God?
If you are like me, this has been a pretty strong diet. So I will put something simpler and more attainable: "Any hour of any day may be made perfect by merely choosing. It is perfect if one looks to God that entire hour, waiting for His leadership all through the hour and trying hard to do every tiny thing exactly as God wishes it done.
In a slightly humorous application, the day I read Laubach's journal entry, I was walking along the street in our city and decided to jump right in and converse with God. Not sure where to start, I looked to
my right and saw heaps of trash littered along the sidewalk. I said, "Lord, all this trash really bothers me. What do you think about it?" You may think I'm crazy, but I 'heard' His quiet voice say, "It's not a
problem." "What?!? Not a problem? But the trash in this city is destroying the beauty of Your creation!" "You make too big of a deal out of it. It's not a problem." I've let the litter in this part of the world eat away at me for 12 years, and I've never once sought God's perspective on it.
Theresa Olive
Thank you for sharing this. I too have gone walking and talking with God, asking His opinion on various subjects, including things that bother me and make me feel guilty, and have also heard His voice. Such a thrill is worth repeating. Oh, to block out the noise of life and hear His sweet voice every minute of my day. That is something worth striving for.
Thanks again for confirming my experiences and reminding me of them.
Posted by: St. Adelaide of Italy | November 19, 2007 at 11:36 AM