We’re always on to the next thing, aren’t we?
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After Christmas we plan summer.
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February hits and we dream of Spring Break.
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Monday arrives and we long for Friday.
It’s this thing we have with uncomfortable and dislikable things.
And while thinking ahead has its advantages (says the planner writing this 😂), thinking ahead also pulls our attention away from the here and now.
In her book, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, Adele Ahlberg Calhoun says, “When our minds frantically jump from tasks to worries, from demands to disappointments and from fears to escape habits, we need a discipline that quiets us and helps us listen for God’s voice.”
Take, for example, today—April 24, 2024.
It’s not May. It’s not summer. It’s not Friday. But it is today!
Maybe it’s a day of pain for you. Maybe a day of surprise. Maybe delight. Or maybe it’s monotonous, like every other boring ol’ Wednesday.
Regardless, it’s a day you will never live again, and it is communicating.
What’s it saying?
As you explore the soul work of listening today, may I invite you to lean in—lean toward the still, small voice of what God is saying rather than what every other voice in your mind and circumstances may be screaming.
“Listening … turns us away from elaborate internal commentaries, noisy inner chaos and catastrophic thinking (which makes things worse). It invites us to let go of dramatic internal dialogues and listen to a voice besides our own …” [1]
For practice today, try creating an hourly pause to consider what you’re noticing and hearing, what you’re being drawn to, and what in today’s unfoldings is inviting you to pay attention.
Find a simple word, picture, or phrase that best captures what the hour represents, and jot it down. Invite God into the journey. At the end of the day, look back and reflect on the way your day ebbed and flowed, and use the words (or pictures) captured as a starting point for prayerful conversation.
When we’re listening for God at work in this moment, we’re far more focused on the gift of now to be caught up in the lure of what’s around the corner.
-With Joy
Spiritual Director
Co-Founder & Content Director
cindy@joyover.com
Pause for Presence
“Listen:
Can you hear it? There in your heart.
A vibration. A resonance. A song. It heralds a fresh start—a greening, a blossoming, an awakening.
Be still:
Can you feel it brush gently past your skin—like the first warm breeze of spring after the privations of winter?
It’s the invigorating whisper of hope—an invitation to begin exploring again after a season of suffering, darkness and seclusion.
Open your heart:
Imagine the transforming connection you feel when you connect with God, when you hold space for discovery, when you no longer feel separate from love.
That’s it.
The alignment. The knowing. The oneness.
That’s your destiny.”
Pause for Practice
Listening prayer is a practice that helps us quiet the noise of our minds, so we can lean in and listen for the voice of God’s.
- Find a comfortable place to sit still. Close your eyes. Breathe and relax.
- Pray about whatever is distracting you, and invite God’s presence to direct your thoughts.
- Begin with a question of inquiry: “God, show me what you’d like me to notice.” Or, “What do you have for me today, God?”
- In silence and stillness, let the thoughts come.
- Linger. Listen. Don’t rush or force anything. Take plenty of time to allow for whatever surfaces to surface.
Pause for Examination
“On listening to your day — Look back over the events of the last twenty-four hours. Notice just one special moment, or event, or encounter that has given you joy and helped you to remember that you are loved.”
- [1] Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Listening Prayer, p. 267.
- [2] A Poem of Invitation by Steven Crandell, via Spiritual Directors International (SDI).
- [3] Inner Compass by Margaret Silf, p. 63.
- The story behind this month’s theme — the soul work of listening by Dustin Heigh.
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If you would like to share this issue of PAUSE – via text, social media, or email – just copy and paste this link: https://joyover.com/pause/april-24-2024
- To explore free artwork for the practice of “Visio Divina—The Sacred Art of Seeing,” visit our library » » previous month’s art offerings
P.S. May you listen more deeply to *God’s* voice, and the way *He* invites you to speak to yourself.
