I’ve been thinking so much about the withness1 of God.
God with us.
I used to think that for me to feel God with me I had spend hours praying in my prayer closet, with my Bible, and telling Him how horrible of a person I was. This was of course misguided. (A story for another day).
I believe there is beauty in sitting in silence to contemplate and to just be in the presence of Creator, but in this moment of my life and healing journey, silence and contemplation are not what I need.
God is not surprised by this or shocked because the withness of God doesn’t depend on me.
Reclaiming how and where I meet God has been and incredible experience, mostly because turns out that Spirit is always here.
The withness of God is found here
amongst the wildflowers
they don’t toil or spin
yet they are completely provided for
growing in unexpected places
can the withness of God be here?
When upon any small victory I proclaim
”Praise the Lord!”
and I laugh because I am still a churchy girl.
When the beat drops
in the reggaeton song
and my hips remember to move
to let go
to be free
For sure this is the withness of God
The withness of God
in the bird eating from a flower
in the way my curls fly on a windy day
in the whispers of prayers no one else has heard
in the way my best friend writes down the silly things I say
in the poem “Inheritance” by Elizabeth Acevedo
or the way my sister’s eyes light up when I hug her
in the scream that involuntarily leaves my body after a goal
I supposed like that old song I used to sing, I could sing of the withness of God forever.
(Sorry, I know that song is going to be stuck in your head now.)
What has the withness of God been like for you?
The first time I heard the word withness was in “A Psalm of Possibility” written by Rev. Gail Song Bantum in the prayer collection A Rhythm of Prayer edited by Sarah Bessey.
When upon any small victory I proclaim
”Praise the Lord!”
and I laugh because I am still a churchy girl.
^^^ Yes yes yes - me too!
The withness of God has been
My children's laughter
My husband's hugs
The smell of summer rain
Remembering the first weekend in April
Singing loud on long car rides
Relaxing into the words Creator has given me for creation...and not finding it strange to be chosen