Daily Devotion - Monday, August 10

Slow Down to Feel

“Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord,
and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.”
--An ancient song, Psalm 25: 6

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We are back from a wonderful, wonderful vacation to the Canadian Rockies and Glacier National Park. The scenery was beautiful, the weather gorgeous, and the company of others terrific. It was a great time to relax and enjoy life. I have been renewed. It is now time to get back in the saddle again - and yes, we did go horseback riding!
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A primary aspect of our spiritual development is learning to recognize the mercy and grace that surrounds us.

It is tempting to overlook the above verse, to get to the devotion, to read the devotion, to finish the task and get on with the busy-ness (or is that busi-ness). One of the cultural illnesses that can hinder our spiritual development is our addiction to staying busy. The opposite illness – idleness – can also hinder our spiritual development.

Learning to identify our “addictions” and to access “grace” is probably the most important thing we can do. Continued practice of this identification and access process can help us unleash personal potentials. Gerald May writes, “I’ve learned that all people are addicts, and that addictions to alcohol and other drugs are simply more obvious and tragic addictions. To be alive is to be addicted, and to be alive and addicted is to stand in need of grace.” (p. 11, Addiction and Grace)

In your busy-ness this week, slow down enough to feel the steadfast love of God surrounding you.

Prayer: God, I’m looking forward to a week of basking in your grace. Amen.

--Ben Keckler
08.10.09