As a reminder, we’re taking the next few months to dive a bit deeper into the five practices I’ve strung together each morning to meet with God. Last month we kicked it off with paying attention to how you come to your time with God and today we’ll introduce resting in God’s loving presence.
Remember, there’s nothing magical about certain practices over others. Practices are simply ways of making space to encounter God and we each have our unique ways of encountering Him. What works for me might not work for you. That’s okay. But I’m always interested in they rhythms of others and I like trying and experimenting with them and holding on to the parts that do help me encounter God more deeply. Maybe the same will be true for you as I share my own rhythm.
And, seriously, if you have a rhythm that works for you, I’d love to hear it. Comment below or reply to this email. I’m really not kidding when I say I love hearing about the practices and habits of others!
I’ll share the entire rhythm now, but I’ll take the next several months to dig deeper into each part of the rhythm. I’ve shared a bit of all of these at some point, but it feels worth it to intentionally gather it all into one place.
On a good day, I begin my day with this rhythm:
Paying attention to how I come (we covered this last month)
Resting in God’s loving presence (we’ll cover this today)
Imaginative reading of Scripture (coming in November)
Colloquy and journaling (December)
And then, at the end of the week:
Harvesting the week (January)
This month, our practice is resting in God’s loving presence.
So, after I’ve taken time to notice and pay attention to how I’m coming into my time with God, I take some time to rest in His presence. Ignatian spirituality calls this resting in God’s long, loving gaze.
For me, it looks like this:
Close your eyes and bring to mind God with you, now. Picture God, His actual presence with you. This might look like the person of Jesus. Maybe God, the Father. Maybe you have another image that comes to mind.
Now imagine His gaze on you. His eyes resting on you with love and warmth and kindness. Try to meet His gaze with your own. Try not to look away.
Pay attention to how you’re experiencing Him. What is the expression on His face? What does His gaze feel like? How does it feel to sit in that gaze?
Talk to Him about anything you’re feeling and how your experiencing Him.
Take a few moments to jot down how you experienced Him today.
And then, you move into the next part of your rhythm. For me, that’s reading scripture imaginatively. We’ll cover that next month.
This practice, like paying attention to how I come, helps me to prepare to engage more “typical” practices, like reading scripture and prayer, with God. If I jump right in to reading scripture or intercession it can easily become something I’m doing for God. To earn His love or check a box or complete my daily “assignment.” But by starting slow, by paying attention to how I’m coming and then sitting in God’s loving gaze, I enter into scripture and conversation in a way that helps me encounter Him within the practices.
And that’s the whole point. Not to have done the practice, but to have met Him within in.
As you experiment with your own rhythms for meeting with God, think about giving this a try! And I’ll be back next month with the next practice in my morning rhythm.
And, remember, I’d LOVE to hear if you have a rhythm of your own or certain practices that have proved helpful. You can comment below or reply to this email!
Some quick links:
Get the Good Question guide here.
If you are interested in spiritual direction you can check out some FAQ here.
If you’re ready to schedule a meeting, you can do so here. (Remember, first sessions are free for subscribers of spacemaking!)
If you’re interested in retreats, you can get more info here.
And may you encounter the God who loves you as you make space in your schedule and your soul!