March Madness

The other day it snowed again. Yes, in case you’ve lost track it’s the end of March.

The year we moved to Minnesota there were flurries on May first.

This is just so wrong. But we’re a hardy folks up here in Lake Wobegon country don’tcha know.

But this morning the sun came out and it’s supposed to hit 40 degrees and I saw a bunny hopping across my path so maybe God isn’t dead.

The thing is, when life is ugly (and even when it’s beautiful), I think the most important spiritual discipline is paying attention – being wholeheartedly present in the moment and alert to God.

I read a line the other day written by Shauna Niequist that so perfectly sums up what I’m looking for:

“Tiny glimmers of hope and redemption masquerading as normal life.”

Adele Calhoun writes about this practice saying,

“Mindfulness is a move toward acceptance of and gratitude for what is given…Now is the time of your life. Now is the only moment you’ve got. It may not be what you wanted or expected…but inhabit the one unrepeatable moment you have with gratitude and leave the judging of what is to God.”

As we notice beauty or ugliness, affirmation or judgment, we can quietly bring our soul back into the presence of God.

And against all odds, He’s there.

Pushing through the darkness.

So what if today…

We choose life.

We live from a place of abundance rather than scarcity.

We focus on the light shining through the cracks.

We refuse to be weighed down like a toddler with a too-heavy back-pack, and instead dance in the rain (or snow).

We become “detectives for the divine”, looking for beauty and redemption and the imago dei all around us.

We move towards God with gratitude.

Grace is everywhere, waiting to be found.

“You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Psalm 16:11