For many children who believe in Santa Claus, their first hint that he might not exist is when they do not get what they ask him for. The same thing happened to me regarding God. When I was still a teenager, I asked God for something and did not get it. I decided that meant that there was no God and began my journey as an atheist.
Many years later, I came to the realization that there was a God but it was not a man-like figure in some place up in the sky who answered prayers like Santa answered letters. I came to understand that God does not do things to me but through me. If I am not feeling the Presence then it is I that has lost the connection, not Spirit.
When I stay constant in my meditation, when I see the beauty and abundance of all around me, when I see Spirit in the laughter of children or in the love of my dog, I begin to get a grasp on this Power that is much greater than some Santa figure. When I have some kind of conscious contact with Spirit, I feel less fearful, less discouraged and certainly less alone.
However, having that connection takes some time and work on my part. I heard a story about a husband and wife who had been married a long time. One day, they were heading somewhere and the husband was driving. While stopped at a red light the woman noticed the car next to them. In it was a young couple and the girl was sitting right next to the boy, who was driving.
The woman said to her husband, “Why don’t we sit like that, close together?” Her husband responded, “I’m not the one that moved!”
If we do not feel a connection with God, it is not God that has moved away, we did. In my own life I need to move back closer to God. What about you?
Quote of the Week
“The whole of God is present at every point in space at the same time.”
Eric Butterworth
