Thoughts of Grace

Violas

Good Morning

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
(one version …to give you a future and a hope.)
Jeremiah 29:11

If we train yourselves,
we can sense God’s presence in every object or person
we encounter during even a humdrum day;
and recognizing the sparkle in the bubble
is a way to worship the God who created bubbles
and added sparkles for the fun of it.

An ideally God-dappled day would begin,
as do other days,
when the alarm clock unseats us from our dreams.
Instead of groaning,
sighing,
lugging my creaking carcass from the cozy blankets,
a more disciplined Christian
might take the opportunity to thank God for a sense of hearing . . .
letting my body tingle with the news that
I woke up.
I have been granted another day.

Just like training for any sport,
learning to feel beyond the physical takes discipline.
I try to take inventory at the end of the day,
asking God to penetrate my world,
to make the ordinary gleam.
With practice and conscious effort,
we can all find God in the most surprising places;
in patterns of tree bark,
in sunsets reflected off skyscrapers,
in the steam of hot amaretto coffee.
Leslie Williams – Night Wrestling

Sense God’s presence . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie