Fog horns and baseball bats

Philippians 4:13

     Part of my Lenten plan this year is to use the meditations from my parish community. We have printed a compilation of meditations for each day of Lent taken from within our community. The author of todays' meditation ( anonymous ) brought in the scene of Jesus praying in the garden and how the Apostles, Peter, James and John kept falling asleep.

     I wondered if I am not asleep some times and perhaps that is indicative too of where I am in Lent at this point in time. I am not sure of the progress I want to make in my Lenten journey. I am not sure I am doing enough and aware that I have a tendency to focus a great deal on all the 'stuff' , worldly, seemingly non-spiritual 'stuff' that goes on in my life, our lives, each and every day as routine.

     If however God is present all around us, She is present in all of that 'stuff' as much as a blade of grass, a glacier, a magnificent animal in the woods or a rainbow.  To my way of thinking God is present in all the nitty gritty of our lives. So how do we stay awake for it without falling asleep on God as the Apostles seemed to do?

     First of all it is comforting to know that they shared in my frailties and my weaknesses as anyone else. Sometime we tend to think that the holiest people, the most decorated or the people with the high positions in the church are not susceptible to everything that we have to deal with. We are all on that journey of life together and we are all can fall asleep on God. That is, distracted by minutiae, self absorbed, taking God for granted, preoccupied with 'stuff'.

     I know that what I have to do is make a conscious decision to be present at every moment of the day. Even those little things that seem mundane are elevated by God in how we respond to them. 

      I often say that when God wants us to do something, she will tap us on the shoulder to make us aware of what we are being called to do. If we fail to respond, I note that God will come back to remind us with a baseball bat or a 2x4 to make her calling a little less subtle that the original tap on the shoulder.  I hope I don't need a 2x 4 or a fog horn to wake me up to what I am being called to do by God. I know at the very least I am being called to stay awake and listen for her voice.