God Meets Us Where We Are
In his book Dearest Sister Wendy, Robert Ellsberg shares his years-long email correspondence with Sister Wendy Beckett, the English hermit and mystic. Again and again in her emails, she reminded Robert that “God meets us where we are.”
No matter what ground we are standing on spiritually, God meets us there. I find these words both comforting and hopeful.
Saint Augustine tells us that God is closer to us than we are to ourselves. It makes perfect sense, then, that God meets us where we are. This doesn’t mean that we can sit back and do nothing.
Anyone who has been in a relationship where one person does their best and the other person does nothing knows that it isn’t really a relationship unless both persons are involved. So, while we believe that God meets us where we are, we must be ready to welcome God at every moment.
I count myself among the wondering. I wonder if I am praying enough, saying the right words, praying with the right disposition, becoming too distracted to find my way to right relationship with the Creator. What a comfort it is for me to remember these words of Sister Wendy – God meets us where we are.
They remind me to let go just a little bit and dwell in the moment, knowing that God is with me there, waiting patiently, with a hand on my shoulder, touching my soul, closer to me than I am to myself.
We may feel that we are in our spiritual infancy, or struggling to find our feet, in a sort of limbo, or even confident that we are in a good place. Always, God meets us there.
At those times when we cannot pray; in pain, in sorrow, searching – God is there. When we are singing with joy, praising God, or lost in contemplation of the Divine – God is there.
We do not have to search for God in far off settings. We do not have to wonder where we will find God. God is as near as our next breath and as strong as our heartbeat.
What a wonderful cause for hope, for joy, for gratitude. God meets us where we are. May we always be open to that Presence!
“… for what (God) asks of us is only the heart.” – Saint Mother Theodore Guerin
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I love this, Nancy! Thank you so much!
I needed to hear your comforting words today. Thank you for shsring
Thank you for sharing this profound gift with us, Nancy.
Thank you for this beautiful reflection, Nancy. It’s especially a joy to read after getting to know you as one of my table-mates at the recent Providence retreat! I love how you write that we must always be ready to welcome God, and that we do not have to search for God or wonder where we will find God, because God meets us where we are!
Comforting in our time of great challenges. Thank you, Nancy!
Such a good reminder, Nancy! Thank you!