All Along (04/24/2024)

I wanted to go to the appointment with my daughter, I didn’t want her to go alone. So, we arranged to meet at the Park & Ride at 9:15. I was raised on Lomabardi Time which meant I arrived 15 minutes early. I drove into the lot, went to the back row, looked around, and not seeing my daughter, drove to the front row so she’d see me when she arrived. Then I waited and waited. I was getting worried when 9:15 came and went. Then my phone rang. It was my daughter. “Mom, are you coming?” I responded that I was there and where I was. Soon she appeared from the rear of the lot.

I’d missed her when I searched at the back of the lot. And she’d been watching for me, but must have been distracted when I drove in. We’d been there for each other, but both of us were unaware.

On our journey, the same can happen with us and the LORD. We’re unaware of the presence of the LORD or of one the LORD has sent. We think we’re going it alone. If we think about it and we truly believe to our core that our LORD is all-knowing and all-present, then we realize that even in those times when we have been distracted or when the pressures of the world press upon us, we are not alone. The LORD is with us. We believe that the LORD is trustworthy, and Jesus promised us, “I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt 28:20). When we feel most alone on the journey, that is when we need to look harder, reach out, believe.

We can miss the LORD’s presence. We can overlook it or become distracted by life and not see what is clearly there. We can become so self-absorbed that we are unaware of the power and presence that surrounds us and seeks to fill us.

Something I’ve learned along the way is that waiting until desperation mode to seek the LORD’s help isn’t wise. Beginning our day consciously in the presence of our LORD and seeking the LORD's direction throughout acknowledges our dependence upon the LORD as well as our trust that the LORD is with us. We commonly miss things we aren’t looking for or expecting. Let us not miss the LORD's power and presence at work around us and within us because we aren’t looking for it or don’t really believe in it.

As we continue on “the Way,” following in the footsteps of our beloved Savior and LORD, let us call out to the one we follow frequently, and let us be still and listen for the response.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.