Closer to God

Do you have a Spiritual Discipline? Are you wondering what I mean by this? Simply stated, Spiritual Disciplines are intentional activities we engage in, with the goal of getting closer to God. You may have heard of some of the more traditional practices such as prayer, worship, fasting, meditation, Bible study. You may have some of your own practices to add to this list.

One way in which I get closer to God, is by taking long walks. I live in a great neighborhood for this because it is rural. There is so much of God’s natural world to experience just outside my door. There is even a hiking trail that begins just down the street from my house!

Walking outside is very different from walking inside at the gym on a treadmill or elliptical machine, isn’t it? Many of my walks in the winter happen at the gym because of inclement weather. To pass the time, I plug in my headphones, listen to music, or watch several television programs at the same time on the many TV’s in front of me. And before I know it I have walked two miles! This kind of walk is good for my body, but it is not good for my soul.

I get closer to God, not when I am distracted as I am at the gym, but when I am outside in God’s creation. I do not plug in headphones. I do not listen to music or watch TV. What I am listening to is the music God has written in nature. It is a meditation exercise that fills me with the sounds, smells, and sights of new life in creation. I hear the birds singing in the trees. I smell the earth defrosting from the cold winter temperatures, and see the melting ice dripping into the flowing woodland stream.

Have you ever dipped your toes into the cold water of a babbling brook in the forest? Have you ever witnessed a tender sprout peeking out of a crack in the hard case of an acorn?

The life God created on earth is persistent and beautiful. God sets in place the right conditions and new life begins. It begins despite us and our opinion about how we might think it should be. Maybe it comes as a surprise to some of us to hear that God does not depend upon us to ensure that the natural rhythms of life occur!

I believe our God, who is the masterful artist and designer of life, invites us into the work of life and wants a relationship with us. And I personally think this is THE greatest wonder in all of creation. How is it that we are loved by God? Why are we considered worthy enough for Jesus to give his life for our salvation? The rhythm of life is a gift of pure grace to us. The gift of salvation is a gift of pure love for us.

As we walk through these days of Lent towards Easter, I pray you will unplug and try to find a Spiritual Discipline that works for you. Maybe you will glimpse God in a sprouting acorn, or while on a walk in the woods. Maybe God’s whisper will come in the silence of heartfelt prayer, or you will know about one of God’s miracles in the eyes your newborn baby. Maybe you will hear the voice of God in worship, in the singing of a hymn, in the trusting faith of a child, or in the embrace of a long lost friend.

Whatever it is, I pray your hearts will be touched by the author of love, and in that moment you will be filled with Resurrection joy!

Easter blessings to you and your loved ones!

Your Servant in Christ,
Reverend Linda C. Hey