because I’m not really sure what to call You, or who You are, exactly.
As I pray to You I wonder, who am I praying to really?
Or perhaps I should say, “To whom am I really praying?”
I get confused, you see, and I know that others do as well
because I’ve heard folks say that they don’t believe in God—folks
who strike me as being among the most Christ-like
beings that I can possibly know or imagine.
Many of us are just a bit befuddled about it all, I suppose.
Maybe it’s really all just a matter of semantics.
Who, or what, is God? Who can define the undefinable?
I never did envision God as a wizened fellow
with a long white beard who sits around all day acting like
Santa Clause checking to see who’s been naughty or nice.
But I can say with absolute certainty in my heart and soul
that there is a force out there that is a whole lot
bigger, stronger, and smarter than I am.
It speaks with a quiet, gentle voice and makes helpful suggestions
such as, “Take your umbrella with you into the store.”
I ignore it, of course and become soaked to the core as I depart.
When that something out there gives me suggestions about
what to do, how to do it, and when to do it
I’d be well advised to listen up, pay attention, and follow through
because when I do, things always work out for the best.
When I don’t, well, I don’t want to talk about that.
At the very least, I get wet.
I don’t think of God as a him or a her, but rather
as a magnificent, benevolent energy ever in my heart
and always by and on my side leading me, guiding me,
helping me, saving me from myself in such wonderful,
mysterious, and miraculous ways that I may never even know.
I have within me an entire group, a spiritual team of guidance counselors
assigned to help me open my eyes and lift me into the
awareness of the Truth, to lovingly show me
the path to follow that will lead me closer to
the God that I cannot possibly define or understand on a conscious level,
but that is ever in my heart awaiting It’s glorious discovery.
This morning I awoke with the sense that I have wandered off
yet again and forgotten to put God first on my agenda
instead of keeping my promise otherwise.
Dear God, I apologize for my rude behavior in keeping You
waiting while I piddle around doing meaningless tasks.
Who am I to make You wait for me?
You have more important things to do than that.
Except somehow, when I finally show up,
You are always there. How is that possible?
It is possible because You are God.
Whatever name one chooses to use, God is still God.
God loves me in spite of myself and will never forsake me,
although many times when I am the forsaker
by virtue of my forgetfulness and laziness.
It must be very frustrating for my beloved team when I
disappear as I am so inclined to do, and when I
fail to listen, hear, and follow the wisdom and guidance offered.
When I fall down as I often do,
my prayer is that I learn to get up, stay up, and live up
to the promises that I have made to God, and to the intentions,
visions and dreams that live in me.
On this precious day, the dawn of a brand New Year,
I pray that the love and light that is God be showered
into every heart, and that blessings may pour forth
from one to another the world over.
May the presence and power of God’s love be born in every heart.
God by any other name is still God.
God does not care what It is called.
Just call.