What is going well for you right now? Where is the good news in your life? What makes you feel like celebrating tonight? As you go through your day, what brings a smile to your face or adds lightness to your step? When you think about all of the things you are “doing” currently, which of those things gives you energy?
Sometimes when the waves of bad news are crashing around us, or the wind of fear is whipping through our hair, or the beat of the drum of doom is constant in our ears, or the taste of the bile of tragedy is in our mouths, sometimes when it seems as if the world might finally be spinning off of its axis we simply have to stop. Sometimes we have to turn off all forms of news and only listen, watch, search and plug in to our lives. The questions above are good ones to ask when we need to get our feet back on the ground and our heads back on our bodies and our hearts back in our chests.
Another way of asking those same questions is to wonder where God is in your life in the midst of the news that seems to say God is nowhere to be found. God is never nowhere. God is always somewhere. We forget that sometimes and we focus on all of the places where God seems to be missing instead of focusing on the places where God just might be.
When the news gets to be so bad and it feels as if humanity doesn’t have a prayer in the world for survival, that’s the time we need to open all of our senses to find God again. Most of us still think of God as “out there” and we forget that God is in us and a part of us. We forget that God counts on us to leave footprints and handprints and heartprints here on earth since God relies on our feet and our hands and our hearts.
If you haven’t smiled in days, what do you need to differently in your life? If you can’t think of any good news, how are you going to create some? If you feel drained and out of energy, how can you access your passion?
While the stock market is diving down and the financial markets are in trouble and houses aren’t worth much anymore and people we love get sicker every day, I am here to tell you that God is somewhere to be found. Yesterday God showed up in the body of a friend who is one of the most courageous individuals I have ever met. Yesterday God showed up in the conversation and the meal cooked by new friends. Today God showed up in a colleague who constantly says yes to working for justice. Today God showed up in a staff member who knows when to forgive me for being crabby. Today God showed up in a young person who is caring beyond her years. Today God showed up in new possibilities.
Open your eyes, open your hands, open your ears, open your hearts. Good news is all around.