GIFTS OF GOD — free as the sky

“All the things in this world are gifts of God, presented to us so that we can know God more easily and make a return of love more readily.”

I find David Fleming's statement, a prolific writer and the author of What is Ignatian Spirituality, reassuring of God’s generous and gracious ways of interacting with humanity. It is as if God left pervasive trails of “breadcrumbs” in our lives for us to find, know, and love God. The Immanuel God comes to us in a perpetual incarnated form, through the living Christ, nature, and each of us. Through the gift of incarnated presence, we can be with God, know God, and move our being in God. One slight variation for me would be to say that it is more than “a return of love more readily,” but a return to love, which is our original true self, created by God. As we become love, we become like God, being in union with God and drawing everything to God.

One of the gifts from God is friendship. As we spend a week in Maryland before heading to New York City next weekend, we are surrounded by the unwrapped gift of friendship—a bond that has been decades in the making. During the pandemic lockdown, we discovered a deeper longing to connect with friends. In 2020, my wife and I started several Zoom groups for mutual spiritual guidance, including one in Maryland. This Maryland group, which we affectionately call Shire, consists of four couples, including us. We have known three members of the group since they were fresh out of college. As enthusiastic and wide-eyed singles, they embraced the vision of engaging with the world and traveled the globe for God. Now, in their early 50s, with their children in college, they are learning to navigate life and discover their true selves.

As foodies, we have enjoyed a diverse range of foods, including delectable home-cooked meals, hot pot, beers, bourbon whiskey, and even Taco Bell and Tastykake treats that evoke all kinds of childhood memories for some. Having lived on Hostess cakes, with a slight exaggeration, throughout high school and college (my unbeatable go-to combination was Coffee Cakes with whole milk), I have come to appreciate Tastykake’s dominance in this region. One of the members is a proud aficionado and evangelist of Tastykake, so he brought his two favorites: Butterscotch Krimpets and Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes. As my friend presented them to me like they were rare and expensive treats, after one bite, I was transported back to my college days, recalling a specific moment of sitting on the outdoor staircase of the Engineering building between classes.

Of course, our friendship goes deeper than the food, though our love for food helps bond our friendship even more. Over the last five-plus years, we have companioned through dark times and celebrated each other’s milestones and helped each other to remember the “Shire” in all of us. We have learned that darkness is never dark to God, but often is a necessary step in knowing and loving God. As we celebrate each other, we are celebrating God in all of us who tirelessly call us to “Shire.”

To shift rather dramatically while maintaining the relevance of Fleming’s statement, particularly the phrase “all the things in this world,” if there is one revelation or realization in recent years, it would be the growing desire to help others see God in all things. The book I am currently working on addresses this very theme, particularly for those who have walked away from institutional religious settings but have remained spiritual and seeking. I know that God is not confined to cathedrals, churches, or temples, as elaborate and ornate they may be. God can and is to be found in all because God is in all. God can be found in nature, whether it is a vibrant spring, flourishing summer, flamboyant autumn, or a dormant and dreary winter. God can be found in small things, from neglected vines to a forgotten pond. God can be found in big things, from the mysterious ocean to the ever-expanding cosmos. God can be found in small conversations to big earth-shaping policy decisions. God can be found in me and humanity, from random acts of kindness to through the arts.

One question I ask myself from time to time is, How big is my God? More than anything, I want to emulate this big, spacious, and freeing God and to be a reflection of such a gracious God to others. The bigger God is to me, the freer and more spacious I can be to others and otherness.