As I sat down for my morning prayer a few days ago, my eye fell on a book tucked into the bookshelf next to my chair: Listening to Your Life, a compilation of daily readings from the writing of Frederick Buechner. Seeing the book caught my attention because just the night before I had seen and read the book’s title quote somewhere online. Then after noticing the book on the shelf, after opening and starting to read the morning prayer from the Celtic Prayer Book, which I often use in the morning, I saw there again was the same Buechner quote. When I randomly come across the same thing multiple times in a relatively short period of time I usually take it as a sign to pay attention. So this morning I’m paying attention to Buechner. I’m also passing on the quote to you, because maybe this is something one of you, dear readers, may want to attend to as well.
“Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.”
A couple posts ago I wrote about joy being a word I’m attending to this year, not as a blog marketing theme, but in a personal sense. These words of Buechner speak to me of joy in the midst of life. In the midst of an imperfect life. Is your life imperfect as well? Touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it. Buechner’s words are a cue to use everything in us to perceive the grace that’s all around. All moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.
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[Photo: Daffodils! A gift this week from a friend]
