thursday, March 13th "Finding God in the Midst"

Spirituality is not to be learned by flight from the world, by running away from things, or by turning solitary and going apart from the world. Rather, we must learn an inner solitude wherever or with whomsoever we may be. We must learn to penetrate things and find God there.
~ Meister Eckhart

Breath Prayer: “dig in”     “dig deep”

     Eckhart’s words are caution us not to tempted to “go apart from the world.” In these times when everything is immediately accessible, it can feel as though we are somehow under siege. “Enough!” “I surrender!” Here in these early days of Lent, we acknowledge that this happens more often than we care to admit.

     As we journey into and through this season, may we not miss one of the wilderness’ great gifts: here in her most barren places, what is most essential is best seen. We are reminded that even in the wilderness there is a root system, connecting life to life. Seen or not seen, this connection is always there. Here we can learn or re-learn that even when by ourselves, we are never alone. Here we are rooted deeply to life, and life to us.

     If we spend these wilderness days in solitary, in isolation we will miss her gift. Eckhart is reminding us that there is wisdom to be shared from everyone and everything around us ~ even in the place where we feel most apart. “Dig in,” we are encouraged, “Dig as deeply as you can.” In that digging, even is this deserted desert we can, we will meet God.  

Prayer: Ever-present God, bring us strength we pray. When we are most overwhelmed and afraid, may we not flee from you and our neighbor. Encourage and nudge us, living God to keep our spirits open to listening out for yours. In our turning, we are returning to you and to life. Amen.

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