Okay, so this isn't about either of the two things I said I would post about over the next two weeks, but when the Spirit prompts, I gotta write.

I can't speak for others, but for me, I think when things get hectic I forget just how big God is. I often get lost under stacks of papers or assignments or responsibilities and I forget that...right beside me, as I'm trapped under whatever seems to be trying to take over my sanity at the time, sits God. And it's when my brain stops long enough to stop feeling overwhelmed and sorry for myself that I notice God's presence has been there all along.

Notice God's presence. When I stop and think about it, that's a pretty ridiculous thing to say. What am I so busy doing that I'm not experiencing the presence of the God who is present in everything, all the time? In the cup of coffee my husband makes me before I go to work...in friends who are just as freaked out about an assignment as I am...in the midst of the grief that people are suffering around me...

God. Is. Everywhere. Speaking to us. Calling us from death to life.

Though seminary is a place that most assume only brings its participants closer to God (and it does in many ways!), it is easier than most would think to lose sight of purpose and to begrudge the everyday routine of interacting with people whose minds work differently than yours, forcing you to challenge yourself--theology included. It's no piece of cake, but it is also an incredible, incredible gift. A time of growth in a number of ways and an experience that allows me to understand the critical importance of diversity within the community of Christ. Every person in my degree program will take the same core classes; however, we won't all have the same experience. And because of that, we learn! We learn from other perspectives and life experiences, and in so doing learn more about the very essence of God, as it should be within the Christian community, praxis, and life.

When we take the time to learn from one another and listen to one another in this setting, we learn to do the same things outside the academy. We learn to put our own concerns aside and intentionally focus on the suffering of others in ways that help us to be vessels for the ever-present God who continuously seeks to give love and hope and comfort and peace to those who so desperately desire it.

Today, I'm getting a reality check about what it means to serve and love as Jesus taught us. In order to notice God, I've gotta loosen what grip I'm convinced I must have on every aspect of my life in order to survive....and refocus that energy on giving my life to God by extending my heart and time to other people, continually inviting the Spirit to take the reigns.

God is here. And God desires relationship with each of us. The only thing standing in our way is putting aside the things that we allow to cover us up, hiding the light of God moving within and without us. We must embrace with every breath we breathe God's being and activity in this life, in OUR lives...so that we may fully live into peaceful, rightly-related, and God-centered community with others.