God is always around us and with us (Zephaniah 3:17) and yet we often fail to ‘see and sense’ him. Why? It is usually because ‘seeing’ requires us to be fully aware and attentive to what is going on around us.

 Have you ever gone pass a place many times and then all of a sudden you see something that you have never seen before? Have you ever driven somewhere and later realized you couldn’t remember any of the streets or details of your trip? Or have you ever been around a child and because of their sense of delight and wonder you saw something different?

Unfortunately, the more commonplace a thing becomes, the less aware we are of it. That is also true regarding our relationship with God. We tend to sense God more in the extraordinary things of life; but in truth, he is just as present in the commonplace. We just fail to ‘see’ him. Yet this attentiveness is the “chief means by which our soul encounters God” (Simone Weil).

Elizabeth Browning reminds us we have a choice between attentiveness and unawareness:

Earth’s crammed with heaven,

and every common bush afire with God;

But only he who sees, takes off his shoes –

the rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

And daub their natural faces unaware…

Our life is full of ‘God sightings’ and even common things are shouting at us that God is present. But we only ‘take off our shoes’ when we are aware of those holy and God-filled moments. Moses recognized God in a burning bush in the wilderness and took off his shoes as a response of awe and reverence (Exodus 3:2-5).

What causes you to miss these ‘God sightings’ in your life? I must say that I have often missed them because I am in a hurry and too busy with something else. Or  I am frustrated and stressed with life. Or I am preoccupied with insignificant things and unaware of all the bushes afire with God all around me!

What I’ve found helpful is to stop and quiet my heart in God’s presence and turn my focus back on him. It also helps to step out into nature, fixing my eyes on the burning bush of creation. This helps me to become fully aware and attentive to what’s happening around me. My day is then marked with freshened sight and a sense of God’s presence. Will you take off your shoes and join me?