Daily Bread May 05

Perspective
Katie Harmon-McLaughlin of Sacramento, CA, USA


The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift his countenance upon you, and give you peace. -Numbers 6:24-26

On a plane again, over the desert, headed west to San Jose.

Maybe it’s the spaciousness, the ability to see so far, taking in miles and miles at once, drinking up whole cities and towns and canyons and lakes with one glance…
Maybe it’s the bright blue threshold between earth and space that holds us miraculously on currents of wind…
My thoughts feel free for roaming, lofty among the clouds that obscure and then reveal the vastness of the view.
My pulse slows, mind quiets, gaze steadies.

From here, all appears well, intact, whole, sweepingly expansive yet navigable. You can see the Grand Canyon’s beginning and end, whole mountain ranges, rivers miles apart in the desert terrain.

At the canyon, on the mountain, between the rivers, immensity humbles with awe or paralyzes with fear. From this bird’s eye view of the world, I am reminded of the smallness of what feels large up close.

The peace of perspective is given as grace for remembering when I am back on the ground and cannot see what lies ahead or when it will end or if water is near in parched, dry times.

Whole landscapes pass by in minutes up here in the clouds, in this “thin” space of meeting.

Sometimes it seems we have lost our awe.
Who will gaze in wonder at what passes below?
Reverence is required to see how the soul yearns to see.

What is vast widens my heart. What will you choose to see?

I choose beauty. I choose awe. I choose my own smallness. I choose connection.

I choose hope that in grounded moments I can remember when I glimpsed the
beginning and end of something that is incomprehensible up close.

Prayer Phrase

I am about to do a new thing, now it springs forth… (Isaiah 43:19).

Spiritual Practice

A New Thing

Breathe deeply and listen within. Where is the Spirit doing a new thing in you? How do you feel about the new thing that might be emerging? Are you excited, resistant, fearful, hopeful? Take whatever you are experiencing to prayer. Breathe deeply and listen around you. Where is the Spirit doing a new thing in your community? Pay attention to how it feels to discern the Spirit’s activity and presence within and around you.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

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