From Pastor’s Desk
Tick tock, tick tock.
Our monthly contemplative prayer time begins with some minutes of slowing down and sitting in silence. Our lives are often so hectic that our brains are racing, making it difficult to be open to hearing what God might be saying to us. Committing to sitting in silence helps us to begin to get in touch with ourselves, our lives, and God’s presence with us. We let go of the clock, demanding schedules, the need for efficiency.
Tick tock, tick tock.
The contemplative prayer time is held in the library. Before we begin I try to make sure that the space is as comfortable as can be. I adjust the lights and doors, making sure there is plenty of space to feel the unpressured pace of God’s time. Every time we meet, though, I am reminded as soon as we start of the one thing I always forget to do. The steady beat of the second hand on the clock in the library, usually unnoticeable in the hubbub of activity in the room, echoes loudly in the midst of the silence. I have to quickly move to take it off the wall and put it in the office for the duration of our prayer time. It is impossible to slow down and let go of keeping track of time passing when the clock’s ticking off of the seconds going by resonates in the room like continual rolling thunder.
Tick tock, tick tock.
Lent begins early in March this year. Lent is a time for slowing down, letting go of our addictive to being continually stimulated by screens, schedules, activities, plans. Lent is a time to reclaim the practice of sitting before God in simplicity and devotion. To do this effectively, though, we must separate ourselves from those things that would distract us or keep us in a state of continual anxious action. We need to remove the clocks of our lives – clocks, calendars, agendas, the need for efficiency at the cost of resilience. Engaging in spiritual practices that open space in our lives allows us to slow down enough to hear the whisper of God in our lives, quietly giving us strength and guidance. In our busyness we get too caught up in what we feel like we must do and so miss the blessings of what God always graciously does for us and through us. As you contemplate how you might do that this Lent, consider what ticking clocks you have in your life that prevent you from sitting patiently with God. Consider what it might look like to move these things from the wall and put them in another room. What might God be saying to you right now? How might God be reaching out to you each and every moment?