God's Spirit: Within Every Creation

Once upon a time, I bought a colorful postcard of Jesus standing outside of a dwelling. His hand is raised, as if he is knocking on the door. I imagine that Jesus expects someone inside will hear, open the door, and invite him to come inside.

The message of the card might be asking us, "Will you invite Jesus to come into your life?" Is there any hint that unless we invite Jesus into our lives, we will not find love, and support in our days?

A different statement now comes to mind, "God creates all that exists." A question comes next, “What is required of various lives for those lives to flower and to reach a fullness of life?"

Faced with a theological question, I seek first-hand information from other lives, among whom I live. I want to know of the experience of others. Often, I consult two friends. One friend towers over me, but holds fast to the ground, as well. The other friend grows on the ground, next to me. The friends I consult, as to their experience, are a tree and a dandelion.

I must interpret for myself, the answers of my friends. After all, I am a foreigner to those neighbors and have a different language. Thus, we communicate in different ways. I gain information from what I can observe.

When a question comes to my mind, I don't have to wait very long until God's answer comes along, too. God has said to me, "It may be difficult for you to imagine that within every creation, and at the time of creation, I include my spirit, the impetus to grow and the strengths with which to grow. "

God tells me, "It is my Spirit within each creation that wakes the seed, grows the plant, and brings flowering. Even in the darkness, underground, it is because of my spiritual impetus, that a seed will open, sprout, grow above ground, and fruit. In some of my creations, I place also, in equal measure: the breath of life and body heat."

God has said, " My spiritual qualities: ideas, strength, courage, creativity, persistence, kindness and so on, are all in place for a time when any of those strengths are needed by a life. I make those gifts available, as needed, to every life, to those lives who know of my presence, and to lives who may not know of me. My support is for every creation, including people and plants, creatures, and planets."

God said, "What if my work required traveling to the ends of the earth to help my created? Remember the lamplighters of old? They had to travel from lamp to lamp to do their work. Their touch with a spark of flame sent away the darkness in towns and villages. Imagine if I had to travel to every life to bring forth renewal, in the spring or after turmoil? "

Then, in the next words that came into my thought, I could almost hear God chuckle. God said, "If I do say so myself, it was a great idea on my part, to include my renewing touch on the inside of each of my creations and to provide a self-starter as well. Thus, I don't ever need to raise a baton and say, "Let spring come, and now!"

God’s words and our experiences remind us that His or Her presence is with us in our need, and cares for our needs. God assures us that we are never alone. The Goodness, that God is, just as our breath, our body heat, our digestion, our ideas, is part of our inner being and supports us in our days.

God's touch is so light and so unobtrusive that we live our days believing we are the "masters of our fates and the captains of our souls."

In my thought. God smiles and says with grace, " I am so pleased! The way my Created, with their courage, their wisdom and their love, bear life forward, even in the turmoil of strife, makes me very proud! "

Marylee Manson Armour
October 25, 2003, May 21,2006