No Reason We Can't Do Both

The church I attend, which I love very much, has morning prayer time on Mondays. Now, once upon a time in Lubbock, I was the crazy-crazy person hosting early-morning prayer time, so it has seemed reasonable to me for months that I should be willing to get up and attend a morning prayer group. Last week, I finally did it.

You know what? It was great. I well remember why I enjoyed those weekly morning gatherings so much. And while I know that prayer time may not be everyone's cup of tea, I do encourage everyone I know to set aside time to gather with friends and process their week in whatever way seems best.

Anyway. So in the course of last Monday, our pastor quoted Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "Aurora Leigh":

Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries,
And daub their natural faces unaware
More and more from the first similitude.

He asked if I were familiar with the quote, presumably because I'm well known for being a bookworm and quoter of many things, and I said, "I'm not familiar with it, but now I'm wondering why we can't do both."

Not a burning bush.
Source: Joonas Lampinen
on freeimages.com.

My irreverence got a laugh, but as I went on my way that morning I continued thinking-- can I do both? Can I see God in everything but still enjoy what's in front of me? I mean, if I see a burning bush, then I know God is calling me to something big, and I'd better get some supplies. Hey, look, there are blackberries right here! Cool.

But my natural cheekiness aside, I think Ms. Browning was correct. It's hard to see the spectacular when we're looking at the mundane. It's too easy to get so distracted by the shiny thing directly in front of me that I miss the amazing thing happening just a little farther away, if only I would look up to see it. Sometimes it's a struggle to look up. (I tried to find the scene from Cars where freeway traffic is driving right past a magnificent view without even seeing it, with no luck. So--that scene.)

Look up. What do you see?