Episode #262 Finding God in Playground Conversations and Dirty Dishes – Unforced Rhythms of Grace

Have you ever felt like if you just didn't have so many interruptions, you could finally actually connect with God? I've been there and I wanna offer a different question for us to consider today. What if in those interruptions are exactly where God is waiting to meet with you? Now, for a lot of us, I feel like that would be a relief, right? Oh, I can meet with God in this interruption. Maybe it's not as quiet or calm or beautiful as we would like.

I love a good quiet morning with a warm sweet cup of tea and my Bible open. But my regular day-to-day life is full of interruptions and activity and I long to find more ways to engage with God as I go about my busy day. That's exactly what God invites us into. And we can learn to recognize the creator of the universe and his presence there with us in mundane and overlooked moments. We can find worship opportunities in dishes, and commutes, in homework, and bedtime routines because interruptions can actually be invitations for connection.

One type of contemplative prayer is also called listening prayer. That's what we practice here on the podcast, back and forth dialogue, conversation with God as we pray. And one kind of conversation that we can have with God as we pray is found in meditating on creation. When the God of creation, the God of the universe, shows us something of his glory and his character and his care through what he has created.

In Psalm 19:1, “The heavens do indeed declare the glory of God and the firmament does show forth his handiwork.” (Ps. 19:1)

And this is true, God is on display all throughout nature. In Romans 1, I'll read the beginning part of verse 20, it says,

"For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made." (Rom 1:20a)

But God's creation also includes us as his created beings, his children.

One of my favorite verses is Acts 17:28, “In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ (as you’re caring for your offspring).” (Acts 17:28)

And so as God's child, his offspring, as you go about today I wanna invite you to notice God in the midst of interruptions. Often those interruptions come with people, and maybe you too are raising offspring in your home. And there are profound ways that God shows us how he's on display in the people that we love.

I had a moment some years ago with one of my sons where he was practicing writing and he wrote out, “I love mom, I love dad, I love Connor, my brother”. And then he wrote down, “I love Dillon,” his own name. And so I'm sitting with him and “ohhing” and “awing” over his artwork and his writing, and I said, “Oh, you wrote down that you love yourself?”

And he's like, “Yeah, mom, I love myself. Don't you love yourself?” Now in that moment I was like, “Oh, sure buddy”. And God actually used that directly after to talk with me more about where that's a struggle for me.

Where it was hard for me to love myself.

I was like, I want that, God. I want to be as comfortable with this idea of loving me as my son is.

I've also had moments of noticing God's creation in other people's creative work, or noticing him in nature, or simply being prompted to thanksgiving and worship for the dishes that I have to clean because I didn't always have them. Or the home that I have to pick up because I longed for children and my husband and I couldn't have them for a while.

I don't know what that is for you, but what I do know is that God can use any interruption, God can use any mundane moment, as a way to connect with us. And so here's a question that you can take to him:

God, how are you revealing yourself in my everyday rhythms? I wanna connect with you.

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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