April 14, 2023
Behold, now is “a favorable time,” behold, now is “a day of salvation.” ~ 2 Corinthians 6:2 NASB
My husband catches me looking out of a window, and asks, “What are you looking at?” “Nothing,” I reply. “I’m just looking.” It’s one of my favorite things to do. I am doing just that a few minutes ago. I momentarily stopped my busyness in the kitchen, prepping dinner and redding up (It’s a PA phrase that means tidying up). I just gazed out of the window. There was a squirrel, disappointed that the cob of corn I’d put there yesterday was gone. He was trying valiantly to climb up the narrow shepherd’s crook to reach a bird feeder. My eye caught the sight of a large ground hog making her way along the back fence on my neighbor’s side. The dwarf Fuji apple tree I planted three years ago has white blossoms for the first time. My mouth starts to water in anticipation of the possibility of eating an apple later in the year. The lavender in the near garden has some blooms on it, and the whirly-gig maple seeds are golden in the late afternoon sun.
I could feel my breathing slow, my attention and gratitude for this one holy moment on this tiny slice of time. Jean-Pierre de Caussade called this the sacrament of the present moment. I’ve been worshipping in such tiny moments as long as I can remember. Maybe you have to. There were summer afternoons laying on the grass and looking at the clouds, autumn mornings admiring the changing leaves, winter evenings watching large snowflakes gently fall to the ground. And this spring day, I am doing it once more.
Paul writes, “Behold, now is “a favorable time,” behold, now is “a day of salvation.” I will return to fixing dinner, and getting on with all the tasks that call me away from the moment, into the next moment. Each are once and done, gifts to be treasured. May you find such holy moments this day. ~ Anne
Wayfinding 