It seems that as soon as the last trick-or-treater had turned the corner, everyone ran to pick up their Christmas decorations and put them up. So many people I know have put up their tree, have Christmas music playing, and we all know Christmas decorations have been sold at stores for well over a month now. It seems that we are just ready for the next thing, the next big holiday (sorry Thanksgiving – looks like many just forgot you), the shiny lights to distract us from the now. Many are clinging to the busyness of the holidays, the Christmas music, to not focus on what’s going on around them now. I can’t blame those wanting to forget the darkness in this world, the wars and famine, the strife. But what if we slow down and notice the details of the now? The small things around us?
Every morning at work I start by reading a poem or devotional to let someone else’s words, creativity, and faith inspire me. Lately I’ve been reading from Susan Palo Cherwien’s collection “From Glory into Glory: Reflections for Worship.” This poem called “Gold” stopped me in my tracks and made me write down the ending of it so I can remember, and I would like to share it with you:
God is here. Gold split the night sky above the shepherds. Divinity like a gold leaf shimmers across every moment across every field. And if we remember to remember, We sing Glory!
God is here. Not in the holiday that’s over a month away, or the one a few days away, or next week. God is here. Now. And we have to remember to remember that. In every field – of which we have so many here in the Garden State, in every moment. In the night sky, the morning sky, the cloudy sky. God’s presence is here, now.
To sing forces you to be in the present moment. It’s hard to sing the right notes and words if you are not paying attention – ask me or our choir members! So I ask you to sing “Glory!” as you pay attention to “divinity like a gold leaf” in the little moments around you. You don’t have to actually sing “Glory!” out loud, but have a little “Glory!” moment for yourself, whether when you are witnessing a starry night, the giggles of a baby, the silent affection of a long love, or a beautiful choir anthem. Find the “gold leaf” in the present. Sure, the big holidays are shiny, but what about the little details that God puts into our lives right now?
Another stunning line by Susan Palo Cherwien is
There is no place where God is not.
God is here. No matter where we are, God is here with us. Be with God, find the divinity in each moment, and celebrate this moment and this season.
-Pauline
