The here and now

The other evening at the time of prayer I was alone and decided to have a time of quiet down by the river. It was one of those very hot days of this summer and the sun was starting to set. Clouds very nearly covered the sky letting only few of the pink and orange rays of sunset though. Someone had just lit a campfire down the river and the wind was so still that not a leaf moved in the trees.

I was reminded of that day’s meditation on the Pray As You Go app; such simplicity, but once again lifting up beautiful meaning in a difficult text (Matt. 13:10-17). “Jesus says we are blessed right now, at this present moment, for what we see and hear. Can you feel now how God is making himself known to you – – in what you see?”

What I could see was all stillness and calm, the very slow flow of the river Lune at a time of drought and extremely low water levels, insects dancing just above the surface of the water, geese flying over me, the lush forest on the banks of the river and the glorious hint of a sunset in the sky. What I could hear was the cooing of a dove, the song of the swallows gliding high above me and a modest rushing of the water in the rapids.

I felt truly blessed, also through the people and all of God’s gifts in my life. I was very aware that they were not like precious stones or beautiful items for me to collect for myself and keep wrapped up in fine cloth but blessings to enjoy for a time, on loan. True happiness is not dependent on any of them but understanding that God is with us in the here and now and is using the people and situations around us to reveal something of the mystery of his being.