Is that You?

I was working in a far corner of our house, when I thought I heard the outside door open and some steps. Just the arthritic creaking of the house or my crazy imagination?  Or was an intruder here in this place?  I was not anticipating anyone as my husband had left for an appointment.  I did not expect him for awhile.  Something to welcome, something to ignore, or something to fear?

"Is that you?"  I called out.

When we hear something, we are compelled to know what and why.  We can listen a little more carefully to see if it happens again, or ignore it and move on, or explain away the evidence (just the wind?), or seek out the source.

On the most ordinary of days, sometimes deep stuff rattles in my heart, or a truth or transgression of mine pulls at me, or as it says in the children's book Madeleine, "Miss Clavel turned on the light, and said, "Something is not right."

Is it just an interruption to ignore, a huge issue to face, something insignificant to explain away, or just an irritating person to put up with?  Or do I call out, "Is that You, O LORD?"

Is God trying to get my attention?

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said,
"Surely the LORD is in this place,
and I did not know it."

                   Genesis 28. 16

The truth is we are not alone.
When we watch for God -- or listen to Him--
we realize we are already surrounded
               by His Presence.
I am just not aware
        of what He is doing
in this heart of mine,
or in this place He has chosen
      to put His name here.

Here?  In these impossible circumstances?
Even here.
Even now.
God is not just present in this situation.
    He is powerful.
Things do not just "happen,"
there is not just "a reason" for it,
no randomness at all,
    but God's eternal purposes woven through it
                        by design.

That wrinkle in time, that slightest movement, that infinitesimal sound, indicate something extraordinary is going on here.  God makes Himself known, mostly in very unexpected ways, far beyond our finite understanding.  His glory appears momentarily and leaves us yearning for more.  All the discordant parts suddenly seem to fit together, when all along they have been resolving into something beautiful.  What becomes most powerful is the thread of fading notes hanging in the silence, which is how His faithfulness resounds.

What incredible things I do not recognize.
Even the sounds
            of His abiding.

Is that You, O LORD?