God said hi and wants to catch up

I have a list of wondrous things in my phone

Turns out, my list isn't really wondrous all the time. Some of the items are pretty magnificent (like the snow on the tree this morning -- I had to get a picture because it was so pretty), but sometimes whatever gets my attention seems amazing and deep but it is really just ordinary or dumb, and my hyper mind is running in fifth gear at 6 am when I'm walking the dog and notes like "the mystery yard on 5th Avenue" seems intriguing until I realized that my dog meditates there every morning not because of a mystical force, but rather because a rat terrier lives in the first floor apartment just past that yard. I'm pretty sure rat terrier neighbor and my dog are leaving each other messages through their pee (stuff like "this is my yard -- get out" and "I'm ten times bigger than you, but I think we can still be friends" because my dog doesn't observe social boundaries).

I have a note on my phone that says "No one speaks to God like you do." It blows my mind a little every time I see it. I guess I was listening to a podcast or a spiritual development book when I heard it. I tried googling it, but it isn't exactly an original thought, so I just ran through a few dozen Christian pop lyrics without finding a familiar source. I can't remember who said it, but I was standing in the middle of Chestnut Street in the dark when I typed it into my phone. Cody the black lab was tugging on the leash, impatient to get to a grassy vacant spot she investigates regularly, and I was gobsmacked. Why hadn't I ever thought of speaking to God before? Why do I keep forgetting it since I heard it that first time?

I believe that God can speak to me anytime and anywhere. I don't believe his only communication is through the Bible; I think he uses anything around us to reach us. For example, I was walking my dog (a different dog, a long time ago) down the street, pondering a really difficult decision when I heard a neighbor shouting into his phone. He said, "I brought you this far, do you really think I'm going to let go now?" In my mind I knew he was talking to someone on the other end of the phone, and I have no idea what the conversation was about. In my heart I know that message was for me and had nothing to do with my neighbor.

I have always known about prayer, which for decades I considered my only way of speaking to God, but I've been thinking more about getting in touch with God in different ways, and here is what I've decided: anything I do because of my love for God or because of my love for God's people is my speaking to God. If my mind is in the right spot, I'm dropping love notes to God all the time.

In other words, when I make up nicknames for my students at school, I am showing love in a way only I can. I don't mean I'm the only one who can think of a name for a funny fourth grader, but I'm the only one who calls her Dimples at school, and that is the way Dimples wants it. I love this kid because I ask God about five times a week to give me a love for all my students, many of whom are tough but all of whom deserve to be loved and respected at school. I am showing Dimples the love in a way only I can, and I'm also sharing that love because I'm following God; I'm not trying to make a connection for self gain or to "be cool" (like that could happen with a Zoomer -- she literally thinks I'm 88).

When I do something nice to make myself look good or whatever other selfish reason I can conjure, it usually falls flat, and I deserve that. My reason for being wherever I am needs to be that of servant to God and servant to my neighbors. Even when I'm out with friends or family, finding the kind thing, the listening thing, the friendly thing to do is what shows love, so that is what I'm called to do.

Looking for God's messages all around me, and sending God messages through loving acts has caused me to pray more often (frequently in the ladies faculty restroom at school, so the prayer is pretty short), and it helps me remember why I'm here (on Earth).  I am here to share love. That is all.

So that phone list gets longer, and then shorter. I deleted the line about the mystery yard, but I still keep the one about talking to God, because I can't be reminded of that often enough.