Lesson 222
God is with me. I live and move in Him.
Do you trust God? I mean really trust God, beyond saying it because it feels good, sounds good, and because it is something you have been taught since you were a kid. Are there areas where you find you are telling God, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this one.” You say this because you either do not want to waste God’s time or because you feel like you will do it better than Her. She has the weight of the world in Her Hands, surely you do not want to bother her with something you can take care of yourself, right? Save Her power for the big, urgent things, right?
God wants to partner with you always and in all ways. In God’s work area there is not a Suzie file for Suzie to take care of. God takes care of all, anything and everything. Yet, how easy it is to forget Whose Hands are really holding us and molding us.
Most recently, in my Walk to the Well, I paused for lunch in the middle of nowhere. There was a lone Dollar General that offered a little shade from the unrelenting sun. I sat next to a cement wall that bordered the property and found a patch of grass to plant my tired feet, to receive the nourishing energy from Mother Earth. As I was just getting curbside cozy, a man in a flatbed truck bearing a pile of hay stopped and said, “Are you okay? I saw you walking earlier and want to make sure you aren’t trying to get somewhere and need help.” It was an older gentleman. He sported his work jeans, work shirt, and a hat to shade his face. He was very kind in that he saw that I was a woman, alone, and said, “I do not want to scare you. I just want to make sure you are okay.” I walked closer to his truck, and over the sound of the engine, I told him that I was walking in peace from Asheville, NC to Hamptonville, NC. In my explanation, I went on to say that I am slowing down my pace to witness the God in others and myself. The moment I said, “God,” his entire being lit up.
This man, God known as Clint, turned off his engine and said, “Since you mentioned God, can I share something with you?” I delightfully said, “Sure!” He hopped out of his truck with zest, pulled out his phone. While doing so, he mentioned the week prior he went to see The Ark Encounter with his church. The Ark Encounter is a life-size replica of Noah’s Ark. It just opened this year in Williamstown, Kentucky.
He started to tell me of his experience and how magnificent this structure was. He mentioned that even if you do not believe in the story of Noah’s Ark, it is worth looking at the craftsmanship and the size of the boat. I listened as he explained the pictures he took and as he described to me his experience with God. I was delighted to just see the Light in this man as he expressed how God shows up to him. I did not offer any explanations of the God I experience nor did I feel the need to. The moment was just so beautiful as this Child of God, God known as Clint, shared with me his journey. In that, I was experiencing God, right before my eyes. How can I even put that into words? So I just smiled, Light-to-Light, and listened. Who knew God shopped at the Dollar General?
Our time together came to a close but not without this beautiful exchange that speaks perfectly to today’s lesson. As Clint approached his door he said, “Be safe out there. I worry about your safety.” Then he paused and looked down and what he said next made all the difference. “What am I saying? Of course you are safe! I know Who holds you. I know Who is guiding you.” “Exactly!” I said. He shook his head, hopped in his truck and said, “I’m off to feed some cows now,” and waved goodbye. And that was God, known as Clint, reminding me that I am always in God’s Hands. As is he and as are you.
“God is with me. He is my Source of life, the life within, the air I breathe, the food by which I am sustained, the water which renews and cleanses me. He is my home, wherein I live and move; the Spirit Which directs my actions, offers me Its Thoughts, and guarantees my safety from all pain” (ACIM Lesson 222 1:1-3).
Of course we are safe and always taken care, look at who is doing the “taking care of.” Yet how many times do we consciously walk in this knowing? How often do we let our experience be birthed from this Truth? In Lesson 194, “I place the future in the Hands of God,” we are called to deepen our experience in a similar teaching as today, as we rest in the flow of God. We do not move or breathe without Her. No thought crosses our mind without Her knowing. She is Us and We are Her. One flow does not exist without the other.
Notice how still you become when you rest in the peace of God. There is no need to worry, plan, or control anything when you align with the Presence of God. This is the Truth and Light of who you are. This is your natural state and where God intended for you to abide. It may look odd or feel odd compared to the rest of the world, but do you dare to be different, taking up your role as miracle worker and bringing Heaven to earth?
“Father, we have no words except Your Name upon our lips and in our minds, as we come quietly into Your Presence now, and ask to rest with You in peace a while” (ACIM Lesson 222 2:1).
As we say this prayer, let us rest a while today. Let us create a new commitment and new habit, to rest in each moment aware of the presence of peace. God is, always, all around, even at the Dollar General. Namaste.
