present in chaos

I woke up in chaos today. The details of family, home and work life were piled up on top of each other, overlapping in ways that needed immediate untangling. My usually organized and ordered approach to the day fell apart before the coffee finished brewing. I zoomed through the first hour of the day, wondering what I could eliminate or rearrange so that those things that had to get done would, and those things that could wait, could.

So this is what I did. I sat. I opened myself to God's presence in this crazy day that won't have enough hours. I did not get promises. I cannot even particularly say I'm feeling calm and ready to face whatever else might come my way today, but I agree with God that I am in his presence today. I might still forget things on my to do list. I might still feel rushed or overbooked. I don't expect God to "fix" any of that, but I can expect him to be with me.

-Candice

the prayer chair

Lately I've been paying closer attention to some of my positional habits. Locations I gravitate toward in certain situations. For example, and I think this may be true for many people: I sit in the same spot at the table every meal. I have my spot in the vehicle when we travel as a family. I sit in relatively the same spot every week at church. I have my favourite chair for reading. I sit on the same side of the couch when I watch TV.

I find this is also true when I pray. I have a "prayer chair" ... a chair where I go when I am at home and I intentionally want to engage God in dialogue. Of course I can pray from anywhere in the house, but it just feels easier to "dial down" when I'm in my prayer chair.

Recently our family was on vacation for a little over a week. While we were gone, I knew I wanted to intercede for a specific situation, and there were many times when I dialogued intentionally with God during that time. However, I was very aware of the sense of "going to" God, even though I've been growing in my awareness of God's constant presence. I'm not sure how to reconcile that, or if it's even necessary to do so.

I don't want to say that prayer is most effective, best, or most fulfilling only when I'm in familiar conditions, because I don't believe that. But I do think there's value in establishing a regular place and time for dialoguing with God. Just like a coffee shop or a candle light dinner draws out intimate dialogue between two people, my "prayer chair" is a setting for intimate dialogue with the Lord.

Will I continue to be aware of God's presence in every situation and be open to dialogue anywhere, anytime? Of course I will. But I also give thanks to a God who knows me intimately and loves to come into my presence.

-Candice