NOTICE AND DISCOVER – POWER

(NOTICE AND DISCOVER #3)
Monday, July 26th

I felt a little ridiculous taking this photo. I didn’t understand why I would be so prompted; I had very little idea of what this cylinder even was. I only knew it had a purpose, obviously something to do with electrical power.

But as I continued my walk, I began thinking about the ways we continue to learn and grow throughout our lives. As I keep learning, I realize I have much more to learn! There are times when I read old blog posts and want to rewrite some of them, because of new insights I have gained since then. I began to see this cylinder as a humbling symbol to remind me that I still have much to learn; that I will not always be right; that I should seek every opportunity to become better informed.

My thoughts went deeper then… into the great mystery of God. God is so awesome, infinite, and beyond our understanding, that to try to describe God is to limit God. Could we ever truly envision or fully know God?

When I arrived home, I looked up information about this type of electrical cannister. I learned that this is a transformer; its purpose is to lower the high voltage coming from the main long-distance power lines into the voltage we can use in our homes.

Suddenly I thought, “This is how God works!” The power of God would be too much for us to comprehend or take in, but God transforms this power and love into ways we can absorb and understand. God’s love is transformed for us through Jesus. Through the Word and words. Through the Spirit. Through our faith and experiences. Through creation.

Even through gentle nudges to take photos.

With this thought, there came another parallel idea. How often do we take for granted the electricity that provides our homes with light, warmth, coolness, and other helpful comforts? When we turn on a light, we don’t hear electricity say, “You have me to thank for this!” Never once have I said, “Thank you, electricity, for cooling me on this hot day.” We may appreciate what we notice – such as the light and the comfort – while not giving much thought about the power supply that enables them to bless us.

How often do we do this with God? Do we appreciate our gifts, but not always the One who provides them?

God is always moving, always supplying us with power for every need, always enlightening, always warming our hearts and refreshing our souls. God’s incredible power has been transformed into quiet, subtle, softer ways that we can comprehend and embrace. Oh, there may be lightning bolts once in a while! But God chooses to humbly become small so that we might glimpse and know God’s incredible love in the ways we can comprehend.

Soon after I took this photo and began pondering these thoughts, I listened to another podcast episode of “Learning How to See.” I heard Brian McLaren say this:

We do not see everything so we do not know everything. We do not even know how much we do not know. Nor do we know how much of what we know is actually impartial, distorted or false. That is why we seek to
open our eyes to encounter the world afresh in humility and in silent wonder to learn to see.¹

This was another small God-miracle – these additional thoughts supplemented my first observations, again reminding me that I am to be attentive and to humbly remain a learner in all things!

~~~~~

This week, is my invitation first of all a reminder that I still have much to learn? Am I being invited to ask for both wisdom and humility in my prayers? How might I pay better attention to the lessons God is revealing? How might I be more aware and grateful for God’s power all around and within me?

Perhaps more importantly, how does God want to transform me into a lesser conduit of God’s power? How might I serve as a small, humble vessel of God’s infinite love, for others to more readily receive?

Do these questions resonate with your soul this week? Where are you noticing God’s daily miracles?

My prayers for you continue.

¹Boxes Inside Boxes — Center for Action and Contemplation (cac.org)

Photo by Karen, Hurricane, WV

Thinking about the ways we learn and grow, you may be interested in my husband Jim’s interesting and humorous new blog: Ruminations of an Ultracrepidarian – Observations and Opinions about Life and Faith (who-asked-me.com)