Have you ever tried to...

Define God

“...So when we talk about God,

we're talking about our brushes with spirit,

our awareness of the the reverence humming within us,

our sense of the nearness

and the farness,

that which we know

and that which is unknown

that which we can talk about

and that which eludes the grasp of our words,

that which is crystal-clear

and that which is more mysterious than ever.

And sometimes language helps,

and sometimes language fails.”

Rob Bell (What We Talk About When We Talk About God)

If you asked five people, “What is God?” you would likely get five different answers. Even Moses couldn't get a straight answer on the subject when he asked at the burning bush, “Who shall I tell them sent me?” and was told, “I am.” Say, what? God is ineffable for a reason. God is beyond language, and when we try to lock God down by definition, or description, we usually capture only a tiny shred. It's like looking at a single thread and saying, “This was once a lovely shawl; can't you see it?”

Yet we see God everywhere—in nature, especially this time of year as life is being reborn; and in one another, particularly in acts of kindness. We see that which is divine in community, in the way people step up to help one another. We experience God when someone says just the right thing; exactly what we need to hear at the moment we need to hear it. We experience God's Spirit “humming within us” when we are moved by compassion, or are transported by beautiful music. We can't, in fact, separate God out from our lives simply because God is part and parcel of our existence. God is our existence. God is.

                                                In the Spirit,

                                                    Jane