Ants Marching - Part 3: Questions

As exhilarating as the song is, Ants Marching highlights a dangerous side effect of being human, which is that if we choose to live our lives without an awareness of God's presence in the present, we run the tremendous risk of falling prey to either the fear that resides in us or the systems we knowingly or unknowingly participate in, or both. Many of us have lived this way so long that it seems to be the most natural way of living out our humanity, but it's not! 

To break the pattern of monotony in our lives we often opt for a greener grass approach, thinking that if we only lived there or had that job or became famous for something, ANYTHING, then we would really experience life to the fullest. However, that's not the reality Jesus lives in. His reality is one where the loving, joyful, and accepting presence of God is with people right here right now, smack dab in the middle of the ups and downs of life. God doesn't seek to remove us from our reality, rather he joins us so that we're not alone in it!

Our job, then, is to learn to become more fully aware of the presence of God. Here are some questions to get us started down the path of awareness:

• How will you interpret the most life-taking moments of your day differently knowing that God is right there with you in them?
• What reminders can you put in place that help you to pause and acknowledge the presence of God throughout the day?
• In what way(s) can you vent your deepest fears to God?
• Who do you know that could use the gift of presence?  How might you go about giving them that gift? 

Now go and live your life knowing that God is with you and continue growing in the awareness that in the darkest or most mundane moments of life you are not alone.