How do YOU Talk to God?

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Have you ever had an epiphany?  Has a sudden intuitive revelation ever informed your thinking and directed your path? Earlier this month, I did some reflecting that helped launch me on a new spiritual journey.  

Recently, in preparing for a Chapel to deliver at my school, I decided to include the “two great commandments” as found in Matthew 22.  The two great commandments are to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and all thy soul, and all thy mind, ” and “to love thy neighbor as thyself.”  

I pondered that first commandment, wondering, “What does it really look like to love God with all my heart, soul, and mind?” I have no doubt that I do, but what does that look like in my daily experience? What am I really wanting from Him, and what is He expecting of me?  How could I move my experience from relationship to divine companionship? In essence, I was wrestling with the question, How do I talk to God? Do I really take Him with me everywhere I go, or do I mostly rely on His presence when I need something, or when I am looking for inspiration?

As I examined my thinking about this, more questions unexpectedly started popping into my thoughts…Do I love God as much as I love my family? My love for my family is fierce! I love each of them unequivocally, unquestioningly, and with deep passion. Being with them is my favorite place to be. I can’t imagine loving anyone or anything more, but my love for God is just as fierce.

My mother always reminded us to love God first, family second, and church third. Throughout my life, I have studied my weekly Bible lessons, read religious periodicals, let my thinking be guided by faith and trust in God, and prayed to God for healing. I have experienced beautiful healings through prayer throughout my life.

In the last two decades, I lost both my oldest daughter and my husband of 40 years.  Those losses rocked my world.  They didn’t cause me to lose my faith, but they deeply challenged my understanding. Twice in my life, I felt like I was dragging my heart behind me on a string, and I found myself clawing my way back to a point of trust and understanding. Today, I find myself clinging to my remaining loved ones more passionately than ever. 

The question that rose to the top of my thought that morning wasn’t really about how much I love God, that part is clear to me.  Instead, I was asking myself what divine companionship looks like in my life? Each of us has a unique relationship with God. Mostly, I have silently prayed to God for growth and healing. The question of divine companionship was a little hard to figure out at first.  With my tongue in my cheek, I started out talking out loud with him, as I would a friend. That was a little uncomfortable. I also tried singing hymns that were my favorites, talking with Him through the lyrics.  Admittedly, the conversation was a little one-sided.  I wasn’t sure what kind of response I was expecting, but all was revealed when I arrived at the first of many challenging errands I needed to accomplish that day.

My first stop was the Social Security office. This was emotional for me because when my husband passed away four years earlier, I was told that I wouldn’t be able to collect his benefits.  It didn’t seem fair and I had been harboring resentment along the way. Now I needed to let go of that resentment and sign up for my own benefits.  

In the previous weeks, I had been locked out online and waited unsuccessfully for hours on end, just wanting to make an appointment. I ended up driving to the SS office without an appointment, determined to wait in line until I could sit in front of someone who would help me work the process through. I decided to keep God’s presence in the forefront of my thinking all throughout my day. 

When I arrived in the parking lot I could see that the line was out the door and around the corner.  Mentally I checked in with God and reminded myself that He was my companion and the experience could only be a good one.  Within moments I was sitting in a full waiting room with my ticket in hand and a smile on my face. To my delight, I soon found myself sitting in front of an agent who decided to waive the “you need an appointment speech” and instead offered to go above and beyond his scope of work to help me research my situation. He was truly an angel in disguise. In less than an hour, I was walking out the door having completed my registration for my SS benefits. The gentleman who assisted me was the kindest civil servant I have ever met. He found a way to help me collect my husband's benefits until I was ready to collect my own 

There it was, my answer.  It was the familiar feeling of God, walking alongside me every step of the way.  Throughout the day, there were countless evidences of good, threaded through what I had earlier expected to be challenging experiences.  

I take God with me everywhere I go, knowing that the truth of it is that He is really taking me.  My epiphany was that my relationship with God hadn’t changed, but my thinking about it did.  He has always been there, right alongside me, guiding my life toward the good. 

Having God as my divine companion is the act of listening and expecting good.  I remember from my childhood, someone explaining that God is holding up the lantern so we can see the path.  The love that I shared with my daughter and husband and that I continue to share with my family and friends is right there, every moment, because it comes from God, divine Love, God’s Love, and he walks right alongside all of us, showing us the way. 

Even though my lifelong experience has had God at the center, this deeper understanding of my companionship with Him has put my heart (my love) right back where it belongs, in God’s hands. Every expression of love in our lives comes directly from God to each of us, his precious children.

Thank you for reading! Until next time!

Merry

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