Four Somethings – Summertime Edition

I love to occasionally share my Four Somethings – things I have read, seen, experienced that made me pause and savor life. You know one practice I frequently promote is reflection – pausing, rereading, pondering where you are, where you have come from and where is God inviting you into next.  I share bits of wisdom in four categories.

• Something Wise
• Something Wonderful
• Something Whispered
• Something Whimsical

Gathering Four Somethings makes me aware of all the blessings often hidden under busyness, worries, and distractions. These “somethings” become markers in our spiritual journey. With so much pivoting and uncertainty in our lives right now, being grounded in a simple practice like this guides my way. 

Here are some recent “somethings.” When I gather and compile these each time, I don’t start with a theme but amazingly one usually emerges.  I love that God is always teaching, leading, showing us the Way!  This month my four somethings seem to be about seeing with new eyes.

Something Wise

“To cultivate wisdom is to remember that we are not God. Wisdom is seeing deeply, but there is a limit to our vision. We ourselves are not the source of wisdom; we are the recipients of wisdom. Jesus, in the New Testament, is eventually called ‘the wisdom of God.’ By clinging to Christ, we tap into this divine wisdom.”  Brother Curtis Almquist

Something Wonderful

Northern Lights!  Hasn’t God amazed us with celestial events this year? Eclipse. Northern lights. Nine planets in one line.  Wow. The very act of pausing collectively, all looking up in awe and wonder brings a moment of peace and unity we all miss and desperately need in our world. A peek into our heavenly future.

I learned, as many of you did, that seeing the northern lights with our human eyes isn’t as vivid as the photographs show.  Our eyes’ cones and rods dim at night and don’t pick up the colors like our smartphone cameras do.  At first, I was disappointed then heard the spiritual lesson – we often miss beauty and don’t see the whole divine plan with our human eyes but need the lens of God to see the full picture. 

“The really magical things are the ones that happen right in front of you. A lot of the time you keep looking for beauty, but it is already there. And if you look with a bit more intention, you see it.” Vik Muniz

Something Whispered

^“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13: 12 NIV

^“We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!” 1 Corinthians 13:12 The Message

Something Whimsical

I tend to be more serious and need more play in my life. Do you think God plays?  I do. Just imagine the divine fun that occurred creating the earth. Watching their beloved children laugh and grow. Seeing sunrises each day for eternity. I do believe God smiles as God watches over us. Maybe even laughs with love at our escapades.

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3: 17

God rejoices us with singing and delight!

Mechthild of Magdeburg wrote:

“I, God, am your playmate!
I will lead the child in you in wonderful ways
for I have chosen you.
Beloved child, come swiftly to Me
for I am truly in you.
Then I shall leap into love.”

What an invitation – To see God as a playmate, to play with God, leaping into love. Let’s play!

What are you seeing with new eyes right now?