I am just crazy enough to believe that God is trying to speak to us all of the time- give us signs and messages of his love for us- if we pay attention. Life can get overwhelming, hard and discouraging at times. Don’t we all need to be reoriented at times to Something and Someone bigger than the here and now?
And how best to do that but through everyday experiences?
A Sign From Above
I have a friend who, every time she sees a red cardinal, is reminded of God’s love for her. She has literally seen cardinals in the oddest places and at the strangest times, but often when she most needed to be reminded of God’s love for her.
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| Notice the purple heart inscribed on the other side of the tree |
I can’t say that I have a particular thing that reminds me of God’s love, but I try to remain open to the many and diverse ways that God speaks to us.
Yesterday as I was walking, I saw this message spray-painted on the side of an old abandoned building. Somehow I was immediately reminded of God’s love for me. Even though I am not the intended recipient of the message (Charles said he didn’t write it!), God used it to speak to me… to remind me that he longs for closeness and intimacy with me just because his love is that personal and real. Yes, I believe that. That is the nature of Love. It’s an experienced reality, not just a big idea.
I know, this might sound downright silly. But what do you have to lose? If you are open to it, you might want to ask God to show you how crazy about you he is! And then walk through the day with your eyes wide open and your ears tuned in. I’m pretty sure at just the right time you will see something or hear something that says, “I love you.”
If we’re lucky, we have people in our lives who love us and tell us so. But there can be times in life that we don’t feel loved or know we are loved by those around us. Humans let us down and love us imperfectly. But God’s love, the love that comes from above, is always there. It’s always perfect. It’s forever surrounding us and filling our hearts. Watch for it today. Let the experience be real.
In the book Creative Thinkery the author Michael Michalko says that Leonardo Da Vinci expanded his creativity and intelligence by making connections between unlike objects. He goes on to say that we change our thinking patterns by making a deliberate choice to create new connections within our mind and that contrary to popular beliefs our senses construct rather than record reality. He suggests that children tend to think more abstractly and creatively, but it’s our educational system (I prefer to broaden that idea into its the grown-up world) that eventually turns off that switch and teaches them to instead think logically and sequentially. This book is on my to-read list. When I read your post about the signs that remind you and your friend of Gods Love, my mind immediately turned to this book and then from there to my time on our deck by the river and my walks around the block. When I go on the deck to sit by the river, I automatically turn my thoughts to the Awesome Wowness! of God and find His presence in the rippling splash of a fish, the outstretched wings of a hawk soaring above the clouds and the twittering of various birds in the Maple tree. But when I go walking around the block I too often drift in and out of real God consciousness. On a subconscious level I am appreciating the beauty of the God-created environment around me and it relaxes me, but I’m not always fully God-conscious. I’m walking because I need the exercise, but I can choose to appreciate the glory of God around me, consciously attribute it to Him and exercise mind, body, and soul or just walk and exercise only the body. I like your idea of finding signs of God’s love and glory on the drive to and from work. I’m usually listening to worship music or teaching or just emptying my brain from the business of the day -all good-God things- but to truly connect our God consciousness to the world around us and feel the Presence of His Spirit connect with ours takes it to a deeper level. So, I find your idea of walking through my day with my eyes wide open and my ears tuned in to be a rather spiritually astute creative God-earth connection.
Aleta, thank you for this very interesting comment! I love the concept of expanding creative thinking through making connections to things that hadn’t previously been related. You have given us alot to chew on and to think further about!