One of the things I've been working on, for a LONG time now, is simply living in the present moment. Recognizing God here and now, taking the time to realize that all that happens is happening with Him, and that those happenings are a gift if we but take time to accept it.
I was pondering this concept en route to work this morning while driving yet again on black-ice metro highways, passing spinouts, keeping distance so as to avoid becoming one of them, and in general, creeping along.
As much as I hate to admit it, I've come to recognize even driving in these horrid, dangerous conditions as a gift from God. While I drive so slowly to work, or home, or anywhere, the ONLY thing I can do is live in the present moment. I cannot wonder about what I'm going to make for dinner, about a meeting at work and how to handle a particular situation, I cannot think about getting my dog in for her next regular vet visit. The ONLY thing to focus upon is what is directly in front of me: driving. It matters not to God if it takes me twenty minutes or three hours to get to work, especially if I spend that time with Him.
Clearly, when the road conditions are so bad, my sense is that God is getting a great deal of attention! I know that even though I regularly pray the rosary en route to work, if the roads are bad I may pray a lot more and find it necessary to keep up a running conversation with him! If I am stuck in traffic, I often get sick of the radio and just turn it off. Even if I have nothing to say, it is in those moments that I am reminded of God's presence, and I am reminded to be grateful for the conditions I am in, no matter how "inconvenient" to my own plans. And sometimes in those moments, when I am His captive, finally, finally I have the time to hear what He's been waiting so long to say to me.
This week in the Liturgy of the Hours, we prayed, "Surrender to God and he will do everything for you." Perhaps that should be my own mantra, for it is a prayer that always stands out to me, calling me into the present, reminded me that all I must do is surrender...and let Him take charge.
After all, God has a vision, and His plans are ALWAYS better than ours.
3 comments:
Well said. Beautiful post.
I've also been driving under conditions which deepen one's prayer life lately. Good thoughts about living in the present moment.
Fr Stephen Rossetti has some great material on this same subject in his book *When the Lion Roars*. YOu may want to get thyself to a library and read it--good book!
And this is a good post, but I can't quite bring myself to thanking God for black ice! ;)
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