“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” Psalm 19:1-4

When I was about 13, I was fortunate enough to work on one of my dad’s delivery trips, sailing a sloop across the Atlantic from Portugal to Virginia.

This was a period of great transition for me. I was in between my earlier youth, when I found God everywhere I went, and my later teen years, when I rediscovered the face of God both in the Eucharist and in nature. In the questioning and uncertainty of that in-between, God reached out to me in the beauty of the night sky, the vastness of the waters, the unbreakable stillness of doldrums and the horrible glory of gales.

On one particularly clear, calm night, under an impossibly vast array of stars, I surrendered to the enormity of God. From that surrender, I came to relearn the love of God I’d instinctively known as a child, and to once again encounter the Almighty in all Creation.

Unfortunately, our society today is designed to keep us from these quiet encounters with Divinity. Social media, electronic entertainment, constant marketing and the numbing noise and light of our cities can make it hard to find the still, quiet voice of God.

But, if we listen, it is there. It is there in the Eucharist — but, also in the rustling of leaves, the song of geese, the wings of a robin, and the smile of a child. In all of Creation, God speaks to us, enveloping us with love, reminding us in the midst of the enormity of the universe, God thought to make you and me. God speaks to us, and calls us to listen to, honor and protect what he has given us.

In what ways is God speaking to you today? How might you listen for God in the midst of your daily routine?

Almighty God, Creator of all, give us the peace and patience to listen for you in Creation, and the courage and strength to preserve your Creation for the benefit of all your children. Amen.