Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Earth’s crammed with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
the rest sit round it and pluck blackberries,
And daub their natural faces unaware.
Knowledge by suffering entereth;
And Life is perfected by Death.

            This poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning was introduced to me by our pastor last week during his sermon.  It says so much about what I’ve thought of the presence of God in the world.  It seems that so many people are asking God for miracles and signs of God’s presence, yet I think if we really look around us (inside and outside of ourselves) we can see God working everywhere.

            I recall driving by a sign outside of a store that read: “Pray for small miracles.”  In reality, I think those miracles are happening all around us, if we would only open our hearts and minds to God’s spirit.  What kind of miracles am I talking about?  The way that a wound heals itself when new skin is formed.  Of course, the birth of a baby.  The way that tears can cleanse our broken hearts, and the way that our spirits can reach out and offer a healing balm to others, as well as the way we can receive healing ourselves.  The way that the natural world works in intricate ways, operating in a delicate, sophisticated balance.  The way that God is near even if we don’t always “feel” it. The way that God works through circumstances if we would only listen for God’s voice, sometimes spoken quietly within our own consciousness and at other times standing right in front of us, uttered  through the lips of another person, or in a situation that develops right before our eyes.
           I don’t think we should so much think about ways in which God can grant our every request, but rather we should look around us to see the way that  God is already at work.  We need to make ourselves ready to be a part of that.  We need to take off our shoes, lest we ignore God’s presence and merely sit around, plucking blackberries.

For life is what you make it.  So make it good!

(For my latest article, “Finding Jesus at Camp” check out The Mennonite online at www.themennonite.com, June issue).