and frustration, focus and fervor—“when it was good, it was very good and when it was bad, it was really bad.” Writing becomes a holy deed, a thin place, prayer.
In between these ordinary events, there are exchanges of emails, a moment for watching the fog as it drapes itself across the mountains that preside over my corner of the world, time for working on a satisfying needlepoint project and imagining the next design waiting among my canvases, and the ever-present comfort of books, their siren call and mythic importance so much a part of my own holy ground.
As a child, my family made a habit of evening devotions. It was a way of centering ourselves and coming together to acknowledge our dependence and our need for God’s presence in daily life. Later on when I was away at university, I would visit my grandparents who lived nearby. Rarely did I spend those occasional weekends with my grandparents that we didn’t sit together around their kitchen table for devotions. Their profound faith was evident in the prayers they prayed for each of their grandchildren, for the hurts of the world, and for every other need they felt inclined to share. In their seemingly rock-solid belief in a God who was nearby, a God who took their everyday lives seriously, I learned something about devotion. And in those defining years of my own search for a God I could make sense of, their total dedication made a mark.
Living daily life as an act of devotion can expand our worldview, stretch our imaginations, inspire creativity. Even the ordinary tasks of daily life become extraordinary, worthy of worship and set apart. These experiences of devotion are thin places, described in Celtic mythology as holy spaces where the visible and the invisible world come close, even touch. They are the holy ground of commitment and focus, dedication and perseverance.
Devotion makes more of us. It requires attention and single-mindedness. Devotion is life-giving, invigorating. The discipline of devotion draws us into the living presence of God and transforms our daily lives into prayer.
To what and to whom are you devoted? What is it that so captures your energy and your dedication that it makes more of you? What do you find worthy of dedication? How is devotion a holy act? And how do these acts of devotion shape for you a way of looking at the world, a way of praying? O God, give us the gift of devotion.
REFLECTION
Devotion makes more of us. It requires attention and single-mindedness. Devotion is life-giving, invigorating. It draws us into the living presence of God and transforms our daily lives into prayer.
What is it that so captures your energy and your dedication that it makes more of you?
Name some ways devotion moves us away from self-absorption into God’s overwhelming love, God’s amazing grace.
How does living daily life as an act of devotion expand our worldview, stretch our imaginations, inspire creativity?
Enthusiasm
Enthusiasm
Nowhere is enthusiasm more evident than in the high-pitch fervor of athletic events. Whether one is an athlete, a sports enthusiast, or simply an observer, it is hard to think of athletic events—perhaps most especially the Olympic Games—without a spirit of enthusiasm. In addition to the faces that radiate unwavering hope, steely focus, energy and passion, there is an ever-present awareness of disciplined determination, talent, and years of demanding training that are standard requirements for athletes. No wonder enthusiasm is so central in sports.
But enthusiasm as prayer? “Really?” we say, perhaps feeling a bit put off. Maybe we’re remembering stories of the Pentecostal movement where enthusiasm was kicked up a notch to give this denomination the derogatory moniker, “holy rollers.” Or we may be picturing religious rallies or imagining other enthusiastic interpretations of Christian life and faith—television evangelists, religious hucksters selling their wares, or the zeal of someone whose life has been radically changed. “Really?” we say rather suspiciously.
We moderns tend to look down our noses at these expressions of enthusiasm—especially when it comes to religion. Religious groups have sometimes perpetrated horrific acts of violence in their zeal and unbridled passion. We rightly are wary and suspicious of extremes and unchecked fervor, especially in an era of fanaticism that stalks too many places in our world. Unless we’re referring to a sporting event where enthusiasm is the name of the game, we try to avoid too much enthusiasm. We don’t want to appear excessive, undignified, or childishly silly.
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