Skip to main content

Moment by Moment

            Don’t miss the moments.  Every day God sends us a moment of hope and love.  In fact, I’m guessing that every day there are a myriad of opportunities that we might realize are just from God.  The problem is that we don’t really live in the moments.  Rather, we live for the tasks or events of the day. 

            The spiritual life is about moments.  I need accountability to capture my moments.  My husband helps me with this.  We try to ask each other what was our Bonum Dei—God-given good—for that day.  It can be as basic as having air to breathe, or as sweet as the smile of a child who is happy to see you.  These simple moments break up the mundane of living and weave together the message of God’s love and purpose for your life.

            I learned Bonum Dei from my spiritual director; the ancient Christians also practiced a spiritual discipline of Examen that focuses on recognizing the daily.  Daily examens are perfect for the end of the day when you stop and consider what part of your day that you felt most loved by God—that is your bonum dei; then what part of the day did you feel least loved—perhaps this memory leads to forgiveness or confession.  Frank Laubach found living moment by moment led to increased intimacy with God.  He wrote:

Nobody is wholly satisfied with himself.  Our lives are made up of lights and shadows, of some good days and many unsatisfactory days.  We have learned that the good days and hours come when we are very close to Christ, and that the poor days come whenever we push Him out of our thoughts.  Clearly, then, the way to a more consistent high level is to take Him into everything we do or say or think.[i]

            Laubach came up with what he called a game of minutes where he shared a way to make a habit of spending time with God moment by moment.  In Ephesians 5:15-16 Paul exhorts us, Be very careful, then, how you live —not as unwise but as wise,  making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.   One way to follow Paul’s instruction is to enter into the moments brought by each new day and discover the reality of God’s purpose, planning and blessings.

            It can be as simple as counting the ducklings that have hatched this spring and watching the mother duck demonstrate the love that God has for us through her maternal instincts towards her ducklings.  It can be as significant as recognizing the moment that separated you from a high speed collision that might have proven disastrous for your own life.  Every day has moments like these.  These are the moments that connect you to the real purpose of your life—praise of God and intimacy with Him.

            Living moment by moment can be done in many ways.  Laubach suggests taking one hour that you are more likely to be successful in thinking of God and writing down how many moments in that hour you were thinking of God.  A good place to try this would be during a church service.  You might recognize how often your mind is drawn away from the love of God even during a time where you are led to purposely focus on Him for an hour.  Don’t be discouraged if your score is low, but desire to reach the heights so you discover the pleasure of living for the moments of connection to God’s love for you.

Copyright © 2012.  Deborah R. Newman  www.teatimeforyoursoul.com  All Rights Reserved.



[i] Frank C. Laubach, Letters by a Modern Mystic (Purposeful Design, Colorado Springs, 2007), p. 91.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Pilgrimage that Started with Tears

                Who would think I would shed tears deciding to set out on a wonderful journey that I have longed to take for many years?   Before I was ready to fully accept God’s invitation for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, I had to journey to a place of agreement between what my soul wanted and what the Lord wanted for me.   For years I have been declining opportunities to travel to Israel—not because I didn’t want to go but because I wanted to go with my husband by my side.   I know that God could have arranged that for me, but instead He asked me to accept that He wanted me to be willing to go and leave everything behind.   When I was asked to make a decision about going on a Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, God gave me this verse in answer to my prayer -- Debi, observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are cr...

The Bliss of Knowing You are Loved by God

            There is bliss of knowing that you are loved by a real and intimate God.   I have felt that bliss. I don’t experience it all the time and sometimes it takes me a while to notice how much I miss it.   Often I come back to my senses when I read the spiritual writings of one who is explaining how great God is and I am reminded how good He is to me.               I suppose the saints stayed more connected to the bliss of God on a regular basis and missed it far less than me.   I wish I knew their secret; all I can tell you is that it is a cycle for me to find myself unaware of God for a time.   It is often a struggle to reconnect each day. What brought me to my senses recently was a huge blessing He sent my way.   This good thing literally came to me directly from the hand of God.   I didn’t even consider sharing the joy I was ...

Why Me?

              When something tragic or unexpected happens, our first question seems to be, Why me?   It’s only human to feel this way and wonder why life has got to be so hard.   God has helped me look at my unwanted circumstances with a different question.   Rather than keep the focus on my pain and ask, Why me?   I focus on Him and wonder, How can You be glorified when everything is going wrong?             Adding one more word to that question makes a huge difference spiritually and opens my soul to find so much more than just my pain.   Another way to look at life’s tragedies is, Why not me ?   Sure, we each have our own amount of personal sorrows. These are the kind of sorrows that have no answers.      We can't explain away death, cancer, rape, bankruptcy and other heartaches.   It is easier to explain...