God Sightings

One of my favorite parts of Vacation Bible School at the church where I last served was something we called “God sightings.” Every day, at the end of the day, we’d ask the children to tell us where they saw God. They would say things like: “In the sunset,” “In the colors of the sky,” “In my dog,” “In my friend,” “In my mom,” “In the school supplies donated to children in need,” or “In a hug.”

Maybe you’ve had God sightings… in that moment in the hospital room, in the compassion of a nurse, in a connection with a friend, or perhaps in unexpected financial help.

A few weeks ago, a relative told me that after church, a stranger—an elderly woman she had never met—came and sat behind her and asked, “Why were you crying? Why were you crying in church?” And then, when she opened up, this old woman really listened.

I love the practice of God sightings because it reminds us that there is more to this world than we often think. It reminds us to pay attention. It reminds us that even in the valleys—in the wilderness of life—God is still present. God comes to us, sometimes in simple acts of hospitality or words of blessing.

On the other side of this—or maybe in the same spirit—I wonder how often God may be wanting to work through us. Are there words of blessing we are called to speak? Acts of hospitality we are called to offer—to those we know and love, or perhaps to those nobody knows or loves?

So I want to leave you with some homework. This week, I invite you to notice and write down at least one God sighting—at least one moment when you sense God’s presence in or through someone else. And then one more thing: May you always be open to being an angel for someone else.

Let us pray:  Open our eyes, O God, to your hand at work in our lives and in the world around us. Open, too, our hearts to your leading, that we might be instruments of your love and mercy, through Christ our Lord. Amen.