Always We Begin Again By Leeana TankersleySample

Day Four 

A Begin-Again Ritual

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:12

I don’t need to tell you that the world is a noisy place. If you’re anything like me, your mind and your body are also noisy places to inhabit, sometimes pulling you in so many directions that you end up paralyzed. 

Noise can make us unable to hear God’s voice or even our own Soul Voices. And, to some extent, noise is unavoidable. So we have to find ways to counterbalance the disintegrating distractions that are all around us. 

For me, the practice of listening has helped me cut through all the competing messages and turn my ear to my own thoughts and feelings as well as the still small whisper of Love. Listening is a discipline. The root of the word listen means “to honor,” and you have to make time to honor something in your life. But here’s all it takes: 

Carve out five to ten minutes and find a quiet space. Write at the top of a piece of paper: God, what do you want to say to me today? 

And then listen. If interrupting thoughts break in—like your grocery list or a phone call you need to make—no problem. Dedicate a box at the top right of your paper for anything you need to jot down that’s unrelated to your listening. 

Write down what you hear from God. Write down what you want to say back to him—questions, concerns, frustrations, gratitude—anything. Just sit and listen to him and to yourself and record your dialogue. It’s OK if it goes poorly at first. It’s OK if you feel distracted or annoyed or frantic or itchy. All of these things are likely. Just keep your butt in the chair. 

With more voices than ever, vying for our attention and soul space, we could just as easily grab for a solution in the din. That would be quicker. Ingest some information. But I think most of us know deep down that the noise is not where we will find our guidance. 

Listening is about trading our trying for trust. Listening is a begin-again kind of ritual. It’s never finished and it’s always possible, and it’s waiting to give us living and breathing gifts that are new every morning. 

Reflection and prayer: Spend time in the exercise above, asking God, “What do you want to say to me today?”