Where do you see and/or experience God in your life?

The other day I rambled on a bit about “meeting” with God in the mornings.  As I have reflected on that post I want to make sure that I don’t leave the impression that there are only specific ways and times that each of us can experience and relate with and “see” God.

Last week my family was on vacation and my wife and I decided to have a “street artist” do a drawing of our two daughters.  As I watched the faces of my daughters seemingly emerge from the paper I found myself in awe of the “talent” being exhibited by the artist.  Standing there, that evening on the beach, watching the artist at work, I thought of, experienced and “saw” the hand of the Master Artist—God.

The hand of God and His presence are evident in so many places in life—in the good things of life.  There is an inclination to think that good things only come from “Christian sources”—Christian books, Christian movies, art by Christians, Christian programming, Christian music….the list goes on.  It is true, there are a lot of great things that come from Christian sources but—God is not only found there. It says in the book of James that God is the author of every good and perfect thing. 

I am often surprised to find that I see and experience God in many ways and places.  I like to watch movies and more often than not I find a thread of God and His handiwork running through the story line of nearly every movie I watch.  As I watch our school’s cross country runners cross the finish line in the midst of the cheering friends and fans I can’t help but think of the Apostle Paul’s reference to “running the race” of faith.  As the clapping and celebration go on around me I find I am silenced by a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye as I see God in the midst of it all.

Why do I see God in so many places around me?  It is because He is there and…..because I am looking for God. 

Are you looking for Him?  Consider the following quote from Gerald May,

“Spiritual leadership springs forth in grace from our very desire for God’s presence.  This does not take effort or striving.  It takes courage, a kind of showing up, attentiveness.”

As we go about our days we need to be attentive to His handiwork in our midst.  If we look closely we will be awed to see His beauty and grace emerging from the canvas of life around us.