If you drive by our home around dinner time, you might catch our nightly dinner dance. It goes something like this: I call out in earnest trying to rouse my teenager away from the computer. He doesn’t respond. Whether he is socializing online with friends or doing homework, he’s often plugged in around this time of day. He’s often wearing headphones, not hearing my voice at all. I continue to call out. No answer. I call louder. Nothing. Often, I have to physically walk up and surprise him. You’d think it wouldn’t be a surprise by now. We eat dinner at roughly the same time each day. Wouldn’t he expect dinner or smell the meal that I am preparing? And what about my expectations? Should I expect him to be eagerly awaiting the meal, jump up, and run to the dinner table?
Our spiritual lives can feel like this. We cry out to God in earnest, “God, I’m ready for you to answer my prayer right now. I’m ready for the pandemic to be over. I’m ready to go back into a church building for in-person worship. Why can’t we? I’m ready to pick up where we left off six months ago. Hello? God? Are you there? Where are you? Why are you taking so long? Any time now, God…” Like a frustrated mother calling out to her teenager, we wonder if we’re being heard at all. Or maybe we are actually the teenager in this scenario.
Do we make time, space, and place to hear God’s voice? Are we tuning out God’s voice by the other things that we are plugged into? Are we expecting to be roused and fed in the same ways around the same time every day or week? Do we wait passively or actively? Are we genuinely surprised when God shows up? Are we aware that God may be cooking up something wonderful for us, preparing to call us precisely in God’s time to gather around the table for that meal? That’s a lot to ponder.
God is listening. God hears our prayers, especially the “How Long, O Lord?” variety. We’re certainly not the first to pray that prayer. Check out Psalm 13. God knows that we have yearnings and longings. God knows we are weary at this point in COVID-tide. God is walking with us and working through it all. God is providing what we need every step of the way. You may find yourself surprised by one of these daily blessings. What a great and glorious day it will be when we do gather around the table of mercy to share in that meal. God bless the journey.
Image by Bokskapet from Pixabay