Already There

Many years ago, when I was merely thinking about the possibility of religious life (and blogging about it), as opposed to actually living it, I stumbled along the blog of a certain Jesuit named Mark Mossa. Many of his words resonated with me, and in fact he helped me along on my journey with my groovy sisters by naming my weekends living in community as a candidate "groovy sister reserves." In fact, he was one of the first bloggy friends I met in person.

Which was something I was able to do again today, as he was in town for Spirituality on Tap. This evening's event was almost canceled by an as-of-yet non-existent snow storm. But about 40 folks turned out, and it was a great evening. The event, like his book, was titled "Already There: Letting God Find You."

The basic premise, in my own words, is that rather than waiting for those giant earth-shattering God moments, we owe it to ourselves to pay attention to the ways that God is already present to us. In the people we interact with, in the ordinary events of our day, in the movement of our heart.

As luck (or God would have it), I've been thinking about lots of those little moments of late. I've composed a few blog posts in my head, but haven't gotten around to posting them on the blog. This year is a special one for me, as I'm beginning my discernment process for requesting to profess final vows in the fall. I'll have a discernment retreat this summer and the opportunity for reflection and faith sharing with community folks as well. But over the past few weeks, I've had a few simple "God moments" in my daily life that have spoken to me. People I've spent time with, projects I'm working on, and a few random events, all gently confirming for me this path that I am on. Nothing earth shattering, just the simple abiding love of God. "Just." As if!

In any case, it was great to reconnect with Mark today/tonight and to see him in his ministry role as well. For those who braved the threat of snow, it was an evening well spent.