God Speaks

"The world is God's language to us."

-- Simone Weil

You know what they say:" If you talk to God, you're praying. If God talks to you, you're crazy!" Well, God is talking to you all the time. It's just that His words require a bit of detective work on your part.

What is God saying to you? What is the world telling you? Listen. You may get the message through a conversation overheard on the street, or in the lyrics of a popular song, or on a billboard as you flash by at 60 mph, or in an email from your grandmother. Not only does God work in mysterious ways, He speaks in mysterious ways, too.

One day years ago I left the office of my spiritual director and got into my car. It was at a low point in my life -- I was going through a divorce, misemployed, drinking too much, you know, living my life like it was a bad country song. I turned on the radio in the car and, lo and behold, a real country song blasts from the speakers. I have no idea the title or the artist. All I remember was one line -- "You don't know love" -- and I knew immediatley that was my message from God.

At first I was kind of pissed off! What do You mean I don't know love? I'm one lean, mean, lovin' machine! But then, in an instant, a new meaning emerged -- you don't know love. In other words, love is not something you know, but something you feel, something you experience, something you are. I was still approaching love through my brain instead of my heart. The message was clear.

So, beginning today listen for your own personal messages from the Universe. Be open to any and all avenues of communication, from Bazooka Joe Bubble Gum comics to the toothless grin of the wino on the corner, from ancient holy texts to the latest independent films, from Shakespearean sonnets, to back alley graffiti. Look! Listen! The language of God is everywhere! What do you hear?