Who is God to you?

How do you listen for God? (photo by Martina Beam)

We were talking about what we wanted to be when we graduated college. I knew I wanted so badly to be a priest, something just not allowed in Roman Catholicism. I voiced all the occupations I thought I had to pursue instead when something someone said threw me for a loop: “Maybe God is talking to you through your deepest desires.”

What if that were the case? What if what we most desire is something God desires as well?

Oh, I can see so many in authority raise their objections! What if what we want is morally objectionable? What if what we desire harms others? What if… What if…

Who do you want God to be? Is there something you’ve been told God is that you wish so badly God were not? Have you ever gone so far as to consider that maybe, just maybe, God is closer to what you want God to be than the image of God you hold (and find problems with)?

We walk on precarious ground here, because, yes, we could go wrong. But, we are human beings, beings gifted with wonderful minds and beings within whom God resides. Have we taught ourselves how to listen to God? Have we nurtured an attention to the whispers within? Do we know how to distinguish between God’s voice and our own?

Reflection

How aware are you of the presence of God within your heart and mind?

Prayer

Dear God, it is an accepted teaching that your image and likeness is within every human being. Guide me to pay attention to this fact. What does it matter? How do I let it matter? What do you have in mind for me as I turn my attention toward you? What do I want you to have in mind?