I have been asked often "How do I know what God wants of me?" Whether it is in the context of a spiritual direction session or in a casual conversation that turns kind of heavy, it is a question that comes after much pondering on the questioner's part. Kind of like asking what the meaning of life is, or why is the sky blue? We all know there is an answer, but we cannot for the moment anyway figure it out. My answer these days is almost always the same, and while it is not easy to put in a sentence or two, it has everything to do with paying attention to everything that is going around you. I believe with every fiber of my being that God is constantly communicating his plan and intention to us, and I believe that we do have the capacity to come to know what God is saying. Like a radio that needs to be tuned for the station to be heard clearly, so too the sound of God's voice needs to be tuned into, patiently and painstakingly. This process of tuning in is known as discernment, and requires much effort and lots of time. Discernment happens when we are able to listen to various aspects of our lives, when we are able to make the connections between sometimes seemingly unrelated incidents. Just as Jesus has been speaking to the disciples in parables, requiring his listeners to pay attention and think, so too does the God who speaks to us everyday in the normal events of our lives. Many times the clarity of this process happens in hindsight, when we are able to look back and make the connections that eluded us at the time. But if we look hard enough and patiently enough, all things will be made clear. Our problem as human beings is that we see the individual events of life and put too much emphasis on their individual strength or weakness, joy or sorrow. We pay attention to a death, getting swallowed up in the pain entailed, and fail to see the life that is born of this difficult passage. When we put painful experiences together with the joyous, we see more clearly the journey of life instead of the step. We sense the continuum of our spirit when we begin to sense others share our experiences with us, and we are better able to see our next step, always forward. When people around us are telling us the same types of things, independent of each other and whether or not it is what we want to hear, we need to listen. That is God speaking. When we realize that a chain of events is indeed connected and each event dependent on the others, even if for a negative outcome, we need to see it all for what it is worth. That is God trying to encourage us in the positive, or perhaps correcting us in the negative. When virtual strangers step forward to offer comment or assistance, we should rejoice. It could very well be God showing us that we are cared for and loved, that God knows what we need and will lead us to find it. God's plan for us will always be for life, for good. God wants us to continually be growing and changing in the most positive ways, and what we will be called to is always for others, not solely for ourselves. God's plan is never selfish or selfseeking, it is never unjust or unfair. God's plan for you and for me is that we finally see the promise in all that is before us and give praise to God for helping us to see it. God wants only that we find him in all things in life, the positive and the negative, so that we will know God forever in his presence. Pay attention to all that happens to you this week, and listen with a heart tempered with faith. God is speaking. You may just hear him.

© 2008 Peter J. Andrews