Weekly Reflections for July 17, 2022
Where I Find God
Where do I find God? At first, I thought this was going to be easy to put on paper. Naturally, it wasn’t. Do I write about the ocean – and how the steady curl of the waves and the easy rush of the wind surround me in God’s peace? Do I write about people – and how I see God in the actions and needs of others? Do I write about the Eucharist – and being made whole through the sacrament and presence of Christ? Do I write about the prayer labyrinth – and how its ever-twisting path reflects my own path in life and allows time to walk with God and draw closer to Jesus?
Needless to say, II could go on forever filling this page with examples of where I find God. Because for me, I find God everywhere. That isn’t to say I’m always in awe of God’s presence. Sometimes the grind of daily life is in the forefront of my mind, and I don’t always remember to stop and look for Him. But when I look at my life, I see God in so many places. He is in the funny things my students say. He is in the way my nephew laughs. He is in my game nights with family and friends. He is in the way my dog snuggles close to me after a long day. He is in the faces of each person in the communion line. He is in every example I’ve named in this reflection and all of the ones that I didn’t have room to include.
When I was younger, I found God easily in nature. And I still do. But as I have gotten older, people have brought God to me just as much as any wood or seashore. I attribute that to a simple prayer from one of my aunts. One that I am sure she has no idea has impacted me as much as it has.
Growing up, my parents, my aunts and my grandmothers were all Eucharistic Ministers. On one day in a casual conversation over a casual meal, my dad mentioned a talk he had had with one of his sisters. They were chatting about church, and she told him that before presenting the Eucharist and saying “the body of Christ,” she thinks “you are” making her prayer “you are the body of Christ.” I said that was a great way to think about it. Dad said it really is and the conversation went on.
But my aunt’s perspective stuck with me. So much so that I do it myself now that I have become a Eucharistic Minister and the experience has nearly moved me to tears on more than one occasion. “You are the body of Christ.” That framing is like pulling back a curtain. It shines light on everything and everyone. You are the body of Christ. You are the reason I find God all around us.
– Erin Perkins