Dear Faith Family,
We speak a lot of the "ordinariness" of our faith, by which we mean that even the most routine, often unnoticed aspect of our day can be an interaction with God who is here, sharing his life with us. From "interruptions and mental preoccupations that sometimes clutter our days," to planned moments, to-do lists, and daily commutes (when still did that!), there can be an open exchange with God who spoke first and gifted us his Spirit to cry 'Abba! Father!'
What makes the ordinary an interaction with God, the mechanism of "can be," is prayer: the open exchange we have with God who is here. George Herbert called this exchange 'Heaven in ordinarie,' the blessed in the noticed specifics of routine.
Maybe the idea of praying as you go, 'without ceasing,' seems more of an ideal than actually achievable, or maybe prayer is too defined, reduced to a formal action rather than a passing awareness. If that is you, as it is me at times, I want to offer you a simple, practical poem on the conversational nature of prayer that undergirds our ordinary faith. A poem that we can all identify with, and because of that, a poem that I hope will encourage you too to write down and remember those moments in recent past, today, this week, when the everyday was "opened to the eternal."
HOW I TALK TO GOD | Kelly Belmonte
Coffee in one hand
leaning in to share, listen:
How I talk to God.
'Momma, you're special.'
Three-year-old touches my cheek.
How God talks to me.
While driving I make
lists: done, do, hope, love, hate, try.
How I talk to God.
Above the highway
hawk: high, alone, free, focused.
How God talks to me.
Rash, impetuous
chatter, followed by silence;
How I talk to God.
First, second, third, fourth
chance to hear, then another:
How God talks to me.
Fetal position
under flannel sheets, weeping
How I talk to God.
Moonlight on pillow
tending to my open wounds
How God talks to me.
Pulling from my heap
of words, the ones that mean yes:
How I talk to God.
Infinite connects
with finite, without words:
How God talks to me.