Coming to your Senses

(Our blog today comes from our precious friend, Laurie, who is learning how to find God's presence in her ordinary day and is inviting you to join her.)

Don’t let your biggest regret in life be that you were always in a hurry. That has been a problem for me most of my life. I wrote this poem in July 2025 during new discoveries I was making about God and myself through spiritual direction.  

Searching in the Shadows, Drowning in the Depths 

Sometimes I feel like He is:

In the dark but too hidden to find.

In the light but too bright to see.

In the wind but too loud to hear.

In the fire but too hot to touch.

In the water but too deep to breathe.

And yet, His invitation:

Taste and See,

Hear and Touch,

Breathe and Find,

Die and Live.                                                             

Since then, I’ve been working on slowing down. What’s the hurry? In Christ, time is not running out.  

I’d like to invite you to go on a slow morning walk today with my dog and me. Put your comfy shoes on and grab the leash. Here we go. Not too fast down the steps now, Maisy, old people need to be careful of falling. The morning air is crisp today. Take a deep breath. Shall we go up or down the hill? Let’s go down this time.  

Maisy and I make it a point to never walk the same route twice. We have found many hidden treasures along the way. Secret paths connecting neighborhoods. Duck ponds, babbling creeks, meadows, stairs and waterfalls. Let’s see what delights this day might hold.

 Breathe in the cool air – hold your breath – let it out now. Holy Spirit, breathe in me today. Let me feel your calming presence with each step and each breath. Holy, Holy, Holy. 

Listen to the sounds of the neighborhood waking up. The birds are especially loud today. The small ones seem upset with the crows. Their spring babies need protection in their nests. Whistles of warning pierce the air. Look, there’s a fountain in that yard. Let’s stop for a moment and listen to the flow. Running water over rocks is very soothing. It makes me think of those verses in John 4: 13-14 “Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.’” I pray, give me this water, Lord. Then I’m interrupted by the intrusive sound of traffic. It could be mistaken for the roar of the ocean if I try hard to imagine it. Waves of mercy cover me.  

Touch that hanging branch. Push it aside but watch out for the blackberry stickers. Pull that giant weed. Who decides to call something a weed when it is so beautiful? As Ann Voskamp says, “Even the ugly-beautiful has the radiant fingerprints of God on it.” 

Run your fingers through that beautiful waving lavender. 

Smell your hand now. It smells so sweet. I’d love to pick a bunch to smell all the way home, but they’re not mine. We always stop and sniff the roses. Some are fragrant and some just put bugs up your nose. How can there be so many different types of flowers? And all the different types have so many different colors and smells.  Maisy is ready to move on. She always leads with her nose. 

Look at that crooked tree, so tall, with a split trunk growing double at the top. Trees are so strong looking until they fall. Then you see that the middle was rotten, or the roots were way too shallow. The roots are usually hidden below the tree, out of sight.  But sometimes we need to let our roots show and share our stories with others.  This tree makes me think of the words from a song:  

“He grew the tree 

 He knew would be 

used to make the old rugged cross.  

Nothing took his life 

with love he gave it.  

He was crucified 

 on a tree that he created.  

 With great love for man,  

God stayed with his plan.  

He grew the tree 

so that we might go free.”   

I’m learning to fix my eyes on the details. God puts many surprises my path. I take a moment to consider every gift now. Practicing silence and waiting.  I’m learning to be a seeker, a listener, a looker, a noticer, a God-hunter! Observing the beauty I so often missed. I’m learning not to dwell in such a busy, scattered, shallow state of existence and surprisingly I often hear His whisper. I’ve moved from a scattered sense of mind to a settled belonging. Let’s not rush through this beautiful life God has given us. Every moment is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Life is a series of a million tiny miracles. Notice them. 

“Come Holy Spirit to my mind,  

I receive Your comfort.  

Come Holy Spirit to my heart,  

I receive Your peace.  

Come Holy Spirit to my soul,  

I receive the Father’s love for me.” 

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25 

Let’s check our steps on Fitbit. Wow, almost 10,000. Who knew walking in the Spirit could be so much fun?