By Shelley Pantoliano
This past year, a good friend asked me to become part of a Covenant Group, which is a small group that meets regularly to focus on spiritual growth, personal reflection, and mutual support.
There are three of us in my Covenant Group. We meet weekly to share our joys and struggles, and take turns praying for one another. We also ask each other: “Where have you seen God this week?” This group helps me be consciously aware that God is always present.
The world clamors for our attention every day. We are overwhelmed by the daily demands of life, and we miss that small voice of God, the voice Elijah heard when he stopped looking for God in loud, overwhelming displays of nature. God so often can be found in the small and unintrusive.
There are many ways to see God, but here are a few that we often share in my Covenant Group.
We Can See God in Nature: In central New York, we enjoy four seasons that each have their own beauty: flowers bursting with color and variety in the spring and summer; brilliant fall leaves that dance on crisp breezes; glittering snow that falls silently and peacefully.
On the road where I live, there are rows of orange tiger lilies on the sides of the road in the summer. I noticed last month when they were in full bloom, that someone had put up signs reading “Please don’t mow the lilies.” Whoever posted those signs clearly has a love for nature. Where can you see God in nature? By a lake? In a soft rain shower? Walking through the woods? Take time to see God’s hand in the world around us even if it’s only the sound of birdsong in the early hours of dawn or the deep red of a fall leaf that you see on the sidewalk when you’re out for a walk.
We Can See God in Prayer: Several times in Scripture, Jesus went off by himself to pray. It was an important and regular part of his life.
Prayer is an important part of my Covenant Group. We share our concerns and then we pray for each other. We don’t worry about trying to make our prayers sound fancy. We just pray from the heart and know that God hears us.
Prayer can be hard. We want to be faithful about praying, but finding the words isn’t easy sometimes. In her poem “Praying,” author Mary Oliver shares that a prayer need not be eloquent. It is a way to enter God’s presence – to “see” God as you enter a holy time of communication:
Praying
It doesn’t have to be the blue iris,
It could be weeds in a vacant lot,
Or a few small stones;
Just pay attention,
Then patch a few words together
And don’t try to make them elaborate.
This isn’t a contest,
But the doorway into thanks,
And a silence
In which another voice may speak.
(Mary Oliver)
We Can See God In the Needy: In our busy lives, we often don’t see the poor, the homeless, the hungry. It was those people on the fringes of society that Jesus gravitated to. He had no interest in power or wealth. The scriptures are full of stories of Jesus interacting with those most people would ignore. It was his love and compassion that led him to those in need because God’s love was meant for all people, not just the upper class and religious elite.
My faith community at Westminster Presbyterian Church is a Matthew 25 church, which means it is our mission to reach out to those who are in need. One of the many ways we do that is through the Personal Care Pantry which offers essential items not covered by SNAP benefits. The people who come are so grateful, so friendly, and often say “God bless you” to us as they head out the door. We see God in each and every one of them. We are all children of God no matter who we are.
We can see God in each other. In Christianity, there is a concept that is central to our faith called Imago Dei, which is Latin for “Image of God.”
It suggests that humans are created with the capacity to reflect God’s nature and character. When we “see” God in others, we recognize the divine presence of God within them, and when we are loving towards others, it is the same as loving God.
It also means acknowledging their value as creations of the divine, even as we recognize the truth that we as humans are all imperfect and are on unique life journeys that lead us in very different directions.
Do we see the divine likeness of God in the people in our lives? I see God in the members of my covenant group in their generous, caring spirits, their love for God, and their abiding and steadfast faith as they wrestle with the struggles of life.
For three years, Jesus traveled with the disciples and in that time together, they learned how love had the power to heal, to encourage, to forgive. On the night of the Last Supper, Jesus gave them a new commandment: to love one another as Jesus loved them, a love which is sacrificial and selfless. It is through that kind of love that we see God in one another. It is forgiving, merciful, and full of grace.
These are a few of the ways we can see God in our lives. The point is taking the time to consciously look for God around us, because it’s easy to forget that God’s presence manifests itself in so many ways – even in ways that might seem small and insignificant. If you take the time to look, you might be surprised where you end up seeing God.
Shelley Pantoliano, a retired pastor, is a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church. She is married and has 2 children and 3 grandchildren. She enjoys writing poetry, playing the piano, and reading.
This past year, a good friend asked me to become part of a Covenant Group, which is a small group that meets regularly to focus on spiritual growth, personal reflection, and mutual support.
There are three of us in my Covenant Group. We meet weekly to share our joys and struggles, and take turns praying for one another. We also ask each other: “Where have you seen God this week?” This group helps me be consciously aware that God is always present.
The world clamors for our attention every day. We are overwhelmed by the daily demands of life, and we miss that small voice of God, the voice Elijah heard when he stopped looking for God in loud, overwhelming displays of nature. God so often can be found in the small and unintrusive.
There are many ways to see God, but here are a few that we often share in my Covenant Group.
We Can See God in Nature: In central New York, we enjoy four seasons that each have their own beauty: flowers bursting with color and variety in the spring and summer; brilliant fall leaves that dance on crisp breezes; glittering snow that falls silently and peacefully.
On the road where I live, there are rows of orange tiger lilies on the sides of the road in the summer. I noticed last month when they were in full bloom, that someone had put up signs reading “Please don’t mow the lilies.” Whoever posted those signs clearly has a love for nature. Where can you see God in nature? By a lake? In a soft rain shower? Walking through the woods? Take time to see God’s hand in the world around us even if it’s only the sound of birdsong in the early hours of dawn or the deep red of a fall leaf that you see on the sidewalk when you’re out for a walk.
We Can See God in Prayer: Several times in Scripture, Jesus went off by himself to pray. It was an important and regular part of his life.
Prayer is an important part of my Covenant Group. We share our concerns and then we pray for each other. We don’t worry about trying to make our prayers sound fancy. We just pray from the heart and know that God hears us.
Prayer can be hard. We want to be faithful about praying, but finding the words isn’t easy sometimes. In her poem “Praying,” author Mary Oliver shares that a prayer need not be eloquent. It is a way to enter God’s presence – to “see” God as you enter a holy time of communication:
Praying
It doesn’t have to be the blue iris,
It could be weeds in a vacant lot,
Or a few small stones;
Just pay attention,
Then patch a few words together
And don’t try to make them elaborate.
This isn’t a contest,
But the doorway into thanks,
And a silence
In which another voice may speak.
(Mary Oliver)
We Can See God In the Needy: In our busy lives, we often don’t see the poor, the homeless, the hungry. It was those people on the fringes of society that Jesus gravitated to. He had no interest in power or wealth. The scriptures are full of stories of Jesus interacting with those most people would ignore. It was his love and compassion that led him to those in need because God’s love was meant for all people, not just the upper class and religious elite.
My faith community at Westminster Presbyterian Church is a Matthew 25 church, which means it is our mission to reach out to those who are in need. One of the many ways we do that is through the Personal Care Pantry which offers essential items not covered by SNAP benefits. The people who come are so grateful, so friendly, and often say “God bless you” to us as they head out the door. We see God in each and every one of them. We are all children of God no matter who we are.
We can see God in each other. In Christianity, there is a concept that is central to our faith called Imago Dei, which is Latin for “Image of God.”
It suggests that humans are created with the capacity to reflect God’s nature and character. When we “see” God in others, we recognize the divine presence of God within them, and when we are loving towards others, it is the same as loving God.
It also means acknowledging their value as creations of the divine, even as we recognize the truth that we as humans are all imperfect and are on unique life journeys that lead us in very different directions.
Do we see the divine likeness of God in the people in our lives? I see God in the members of my covenant group in their generous, caring spirits, their love for God, and their abiding and steadfast faith as they wrestle with the struggles of life.
For three years, Jesus traveled with the disciples and in that time together, they learned how love had the power to heal, to encourage, to forgive. On the night of the Last Supper, Jesus gave them a new commandment: to love one another as Jesus loved them, a love which is sacrificial and selfless. It is through that kind of love that we see God in one another. It is forgiving, merciful, and full of grace.
These are a few of the ways we can see God in our lives. The point is taking the time to consciously look for God around us, because it’s easy to forget that God’s presence manifests itself in so many ways – even in ways that might seem small and insignificant. If you take the time to look, you might be surprised where you end up seeing God.
Shelley Pantoliano, a retired pastor, is a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church. She is married and has 2 children and 3 grandchildren. She enjoys writing poetry, playing the piano, and reading.
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