Picking Up Straws

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters…It is the Lord you are serving.” Col 3:24-25

This morning I read something in Take Courage, my Bible Study by Jennifer Rothschild that seemed odd at first consideration. She encouraged me to ‘practice God’s presence.’ I found that strange because God controls His own presence and tells us that He is always with us, never leaving our side. So, to practice His presence seems foreign to me, but she gave a beautiful illustration in a story of a monk who lived in the seventeenth century. His name was Brother Lawrence and he worked in a monastery kitchen ‘where his love for God grew and his awareness of God’s presence became a practice.’ He wrote, ‘We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love for Him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before Him, Who has given me the grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God.’ pp. 118-119.

When we practice His presence, we view every little action we take as doing it in the presence of God and out of our love for Him. Through this awareness the smallest of things can elevate its value since it is a love offering to Him. In considering my calendar for this week, I began picturing every item as doing it for God because I love Him. I need to sweep the dead leaves off of my front walkway so I will practice God’s presence by thanking Him for the new crisp season that only He could create. I am keeping my great-nephew for my niece on Friday and I will practice God’s presence by praising Him for breathing life into Him. I need to mail a few bills and I will worship Him with gratitude that He has given us the provision to cover them. I’m sure your calendar is bogged down but when we commit to practice His presence with a keen awareness that He is the beneficiary of our efforts ‘even picking up a straw’ can be motivated by our love for God. When we practice His presence, our focus shifts from grumbling to gratitude and troubles to triumphs.

“So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.” 2 Co 4:18