Quick Encounter

There is a gift in simply being present with someone, even if the encounter lasts only 30 seconds. When I make eye contact with the supermarket clerk or my table waiter, my eyes say "I see you. You are not a thing to me. Or merely an appendage to the cash register. You are  a person."

As we rush through our days,  let us stay conscious of each interaction. Remember that everyone we meet is a God-holder. Honor each person with eye contact and a smile. It doesn't matter if the person smiles back.  We're offering a gift, not a trade.

I’ve been remiss in writing my blog this past month--and for a good reason, I think. I went to Colorado to a wonderful Women’s Fitness Camp and left my computer  and smart phone behind. 

 Years ago, my friend Don Campbell, a man who truly walked his spiritual talk, said to me, “If you want a relationship with someone, you have to invest your time: the same thing holds true for a relationship with God. Start your day with an hour of prayer.”   

In these days of addictive texting and Face-booking, when we can easily spend an hour (or two!) checking  our Facebook messages, it’s worth asking: “Do I care enough about my day to day relationship with God to spend at least as much time communicating with my Creator?”  

In between hiking and biking and yoga and water aerobics at the Fitness Camp, I found it spiritually renewing to walk among the trees and gratefully ponder for an hour all the gifts in my life that have come from the great universal force of Love we call God. 

Notice how much time you spend on Facebook today. And then, ask: “Can I spend at least as much time in prayerfully building my relationship with God?”  

A Psalm For traveling along the Way

The path winds before me
Curving, hidden in parts
So I do not see where it turns.
And how easy it is to fear I will
Stumble or take a wrong turn.

Yet lifting my eyes upward,
Above the trees I see the sky,
blue and sun-tipped.
And in the dazzling brightness,
I step out in faith
Knowing I will not stumble for long.

Knowing that God is at my right hand
And at my left foot.
Above me as the dazzle.
Below me as the humous.
And when I walk with God
I never walk alone.

Fall 7 Times, Stand Up 8

Last week, I visited my two little grandchildren in San Diego. Brady is an adorable baby, and right at that age between crawling and walking. I watched him stand up, take a tentative step, and then plop! Down he'd fall on his well-padded behind. But he didn’t cry, he just pulled himself up again. Babies don't get discouraged. They never say to themselves, "See? This proves it. I'll never walk." To babies, falling is merely part of the learning process.

Watching Brady reminded me of a prayer in my book, Grace on the Go for Young Moms.
I titled it “Fall Seven Times, Get Up Eight.”

Watching a baby learn to walk
Is a gentle reminder that God doesn't count
The times we fall, either.
Help me remember that in the Creator's eyes
I am judged no more, no less
Than a baby who is taking first steps.