“Be still, and know that I am God!”
Psalm 46:10
On my desk is a picture of an Eastern Orthodox icon of Jesus Christ. His right hand is upraised in the commonly used blessing hand – pinky and ring finger forming a circle with the thumb and the index and third fingers gently extended. The actual icon reached out to me on when I was visiting the Irish Abbey of Glenstal. A collection of sacred icons had been donated to the Abbey years ago and then nearly forgotten. Today they are housed in a quiet stone Chapel underneath the main church. Icons are created as a form of prayer, the iconographer’s hand guided by God, every brushstroke a meditation. They are intended to engage one’s soul. That happened for me. As I gazed into the dark wells of Jesus’ eyes, my own filled with tears and flowed down my cheeks. A healing was happening, a heart-melting. I experienced the Truth, “God is love.”
God is everywhere present. We don’t have to travel to Ireland or gaze at an icon to commune with God. We can simply accept God’s invitation to perceive the sacred Presence any place and any time. Granted that’s easier said than done. We buy into the belief and get into the habit of thinking that God can only be met in certain places or under certain conditions. That’s just not so. The only barrier to perceiving God is that belief and habit. We are God’s beloved children and we are never alone. It’s worth it to commit to living that way. Give this practice a try. Stop where you are right now and talk to God, saying something like this, “God open my eyes that I may see You in this place,” or “Open my ears that I may hear You in this place.” Then take a moment to be still. Divine Understanding will not fail you. Whatever comes to you is your way of encountering God, and it is just right. Friend, God is everywhere and that includes within and with you! Be still, and know.
In the Love and Light of the Christ,
Rev. Anna
