Are You In Here?

Not so long ago, my sister posted a video of her two-year-old in our family Facebook chat. In it, Sebastian was searching the kitchen for his dad – who was actually at work. He looked in the cutlery drawer, the pantry, under the sink and even in the narrow gap between the fridge and the wall. Each time, he would say to himself, ‘in here’ before taking a look and then saying ‘no’ and calling out to his dad again.

Now to us it is fairly obvious that Sebastian’s dad was not hiding in any of those places, but nevertheless he just kept going, calling out to his dad and continuing to look. He was convinced that he would find him. I am not sure what happened for him to stop, but I imagine Sebastian became distracted by one of his siblings until his dad came home and walked through the door. It was, in a sense, Sebastian’s Dad who found and met him right in the midst of his ordinary life circumstances

Sometimes I wonder if we can be a little bit like Sebastian in our search for God – endlessly looking and actively searching, when perhaps God simply invites us to be still so that he can come to us in the ordinary moments of our lives. At times, we can be so busy looking and seeking God that we miss the ways that he wants to be present to us.

Perhaps this is why the gift of the Examen, which St Ignatius left us, is such a gift for us in prayer as we journey through life. It is a way of prayer that enables us to look over our day and connect with the movements of God.

Mel Edwards