The woman whispered, “God, speak to me,” and a meadowlark sang, but she did not hear. So she yelled, “God, speak to me!” and the thunder rolled across the sky, but the woman did not listen. The woman looked around and said, God, let me see you,” and a star shone brightly, but she did not notice. And the woman shouted, “God, show me a miracle!” and a life was born, but the woman did not know. So she cried out in despair, “Touch me God, and let me know you are here!” whereupon God reached down and touched the woman. But she brushed the butterfly away and walked away unknowingly.
-- Author Unknown

You should have gotten gas last night. This morning, your car wouldn’t even turn over. While you waited in your driveway for roadside assistance to bring you some gas, something clearly said to you go back inside the house and be sure you blew out your morning candle. Thinking hard then believing you did blow the candle out, you continued to wait, reading an article in the newspaper about the neighborhood school’s effort to warn kids about the dangers of playing with matches. Along came roadside assistance smelling like the fumes from the gas can he was carrying and you thought to yourself that you’re glad you’re not a smoker.

You’ve been feeling like it was time to leave that dead-end job. Even thinking of going back to school for an advanced degree so that you could be your own boss, run your own company, and concentrate on your own bottom-line. Well, today when you walked in to work, 45 minutes late from the gas faux pas, your boss handed you a pink slip and a small box and said only take what you brought and thanks for your service.

You get back in your car with your box of belongings and feel extremely uneasy, though you’re not really sure it’s because you lost your job. Nevertheless, to ease your stress, you find a masseuse and pay an arm and a leg just to get your back rubbed. Finally, you head home, not really wanting to, but somehow your car steers you there. As you get closer your uneasiness increases, especially when you see the fire trucks parked in front of your smoking home and water hoses spraying water into a hole in your roof – right into the area where you were burning your morning candle.

How is it we miss the gentle voice of God only to be startled by a much more disruptive one?

In order for us to see, feel, and hear God, He often has to get in our face and practically hold us to the wall for us to get that it’s Him. Most of the time we’re expecting a booming Hollywood voice followed by claps of thunder, a darkening sky, and the earth opening up. But God doesn’t always speak like a train in the night. Often His expressions are gentle whispers like the wind or sweet melodies like the robin’s song. Sometimes God’s voice is loud and thunderous; sometimes He does appear in a modern-day burning bush and the heavy smoke that shows the way, truth, and light. But more often than not, God speaks to us and shows himself in our everyday experiences and meanderings in very quiet and common ways.

Right now, be quiet. Be still. Can you hear God speaking? Can you see God? Do you feel God?

Sadiqqa © 2007