The average person is awake for about 112 hours a week. The average church-going person spends two of those hours at church. Ninety-eight percent of our waking hours are spent in the activities of everyday life: drinking coffee, going to school, driving in the car, working and volunteering, cooking and eating with family and walking the dog. If we only look for God at church, we will be lonely for God 98% of our waking hours. On the other hand, if we learn how to pay attention to God’s abundant presence that is everywhere in every moment, we will experience the sacredness of everyday life.
This was the subject of a church newsletter from years past that became a topic of conversation in our time of worship yesterday at Red Oak Grove. We know that God is present outside of the church building. I think we know that God is at work in our every day lives, but sometimes I think that we need to tune our eyes to see those places. That’s the homework I gave yesterday morning – keep your eyes open and name those places where you see God in the every day. Point your finger and say, “There. That’s God at work.” Practice doing that this week. Whether it’s a conversation with a person at the supermarket, something your child does, or a moment of peace. Name those places and earn a gold star for your homework assignment by emailing in a photo [officeROG@gmail.com] that describes this presence or bringing a picture to worship in the next weeks. Add it to our photo board and we’ll soon have a collaboration of those 98% of our waking hours and how God is present in every. single. minute. of it.
Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church 