God is So Reliably Unpredictable: Being Receptive to Simple Gifts from God

God is So Reliably Unpredictable:

Being Receptive to Simple Gifts from God

The Benedictine trait of hospitality has been an easy one for me to embrace - “All are to be welcomed as Christ” (St. Benedict). Two weeks ago, I got to “practice what I preach”. I was able to share fellowship and dinner with a refugee family of five from Ukraine. They all had real faces, they all had real names, and they had their stories. A day later, I took the mom shopping to a thrift store and to BJs wholesale club for some groceries. I reflected that about 75 years ago, someone must have helped my own immigrant parents do the same - and I was filled with gratitude, as tears came to my eyes for being able to return the favor to a new generation… What a gift from God. 

In mid-June, I was graced with a visit from my daughter Stephanie and grandson Luka. During her visit, God spoke to me through “the mouth of babes”. Three children and five adults (ranging in age from 6 months to about 70) were sharing fish tacos in my kitchen. I offered to hold my youngest grandson while my daughter Mary was gobbling up her tacos before nursing him. Walking around the table, for a split second I found myself peaking in through the window. What did I see - some chaos, some wiggly little ones, plenty of noise? Yes, but mostly I just saw love being shared - people anticipating the needs of others, the old helping the young, or maybe the young helping the old…I saw plenty of joy. It was not quiet, but there was peace! God’s peace. Christ was among us, and I heard God urging me to just love the little one I was holding, and leave the rest in his hands… 

Another “lesson” unfolded the following morning, as Stephanie was trying to catch an hour of sleep before attempting the 400-mile drive back to Rochester with a toddler. Eighteen-month-old Luka knew that his mom was behind the closed door… He brought me to tears when he patted his heart with one little palm and reaching for the bedroom door with the other one, softly and gently said “mama”. One small gesture, one single word coupled with the sweet innocence of a child, conveyed pure love. Should that be the posture, the gaze, and the tenderness we express when we pray? The trust, the surrender, and the total abandonment, with the sole desire to just be with the one you love… the one who awaits you on the other side with open arms…. 

Fr. Mike Schmitz states we often come to receive the sacraments wearing raincoats and umbrellas, and wonder why nothing happens? Hmmm. Shortly after Stephanie’s visit, I went to confession. As part of my penance, I was asked to pray the “Our Father” s-l-o-w-l-y and reflectively. When I got home, and barely said, “Our Father”, the image of little Luka - with one hand on his heart and the other reaching for the door - was before my eyes. I was little Luka, knowing how much I was loved by the One to Whom I was praying - the One waiting to embrace me as soon as I opened that door. I prayed those words like never before. I wasn’t just doing lip service. I took off my raincoat, put down my umbrella, and became vulnerable. I stood barefoot in the rain and allowed God to enfold me in his tender embrace and shower me with his Love… and I cried. What a gift. 

Next time you go to church, ditch that raincoat and umbrella. Stand barefoot in the warm summer rain. Feel the raindrops - be drenched in his Love as you receive Jesus in the Eucharist. Open the door and receive that embrace… and stay there for a while…just enjoy being held. What a gift. 

If my patio tomato plant refused to grow and change, it would never bear fruit. It needs both the rain and the sun to grow, and so do we. Force yourself frequently during the day to PAUSE, to breathe, and to realize this moment is unique and will not come again. Accept it as an opportunity to change and to grow. If you take off your raincoat and let down your guard, you will not only find your true self, you will also find God in this very moment! Tomorrow is still a mystery. Focusing on it will cause anxiety. Yesterday is history. Dwelling too much on the past often brings depression. Let go of both. Live in the present. 

Whether it is helping immigrants experience adventures in a "new world” or sharing hugs and giggles with toddlers in our “old world”, find God in the ordinary everyday moments of your life. God only exists in the “todays” of our lives. 

Try praying the Our Father very slowly. Place one hand on your heart and with the other one open up that door… “Abba”, is waiting to embrace each one of us. We are all his children - siblings in the same family of God. Our God is so reliably unpredictable. When we least expect it, the Lord makes himself present, but only in the present… so open that present! I just did - and I found all of you! What a gift! 

Ulana Pederson (former member of St. Mary Parish)