REFLECTIONS

Drifting Days

Drifting days, the ones when there is nothing that must be done, but still with lots of things that could be done. Those are days when the compulsion to do something important clashes with that inward search for time to simply bask in serenity and peace.

When those days come, take a moment or two to listen for God’s knock on the door into your life. It’s not that He isn’t knocking on other days too; but on those drifting days, his gentle rap can be more clearly heard. So, invite him in. Offer God a comfortable place to sit while you brew some tea or coffee and gather some sweets to munch on while you visit for a while. Enjoy the company. Make it a day of prayer.

Daily (or almost daily), I find myself talking to God about something. My prayers generally fall into the categories of petitions, things I want for myself or someone else, and thanksgiving for prayers answered and blessings I didn’t know to ask for. But another kind of prayer needs more attention. Contemplative prayer might be a good description for time spent with God in assessment. What has God called me to do, and how well am I doing it?

It’s not as if I don’t often contemplate matters at hand, ponder them, assess the options, discern a direction to take. It’s that I don’t include God often enough when I’m doing it. I try to figure things out on my own. Too often (if not always) a bias factor bends me in the direction of selfish desires that shy from God’s calling, especially when even the smallest sacrifice is required.

Sacrifice is part of love. Can there be true love without it? Love seeks the well-being of another. More than wanting well-being for someone else, sacrifice makes the selfless steps to make it so. Sacrifice is loving your neighbor. And love pleases God.

Drifting days offer an ideal setting to sit down with God. To reassess your life. To ask if you are doing what He called you to do. To ask God to share his thoughts about how you are doing. Listen quietly. Listen intently. Fight through selfish biases that try to intervene. Listen for God’s guidance, and if so called, seek the strength to sacrifice for the well-being of someone else. A day in prayer won’t ensure happiness, or increase position or power, or gain recognition, or promise peace.

But a day in prayer helps joy rise in the heart with the warmth of a morning sun.

You are the light of the world,

Richard +

www.reflectingthesavior.org.

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