God is Here!

“As I sat in the oratory, weary to my core, I suddenly heard a voice say, ‘Have no fear, my daughter, for I AM, and I will never leave you. Have no fear.’” Teresa of Avila, The Book of My Life (1562)

“Have no fear,” Teresa reports, because God is always with us, every minute of our days. No matter what happens in life, no matter what trials we face, we do not need to be afraid because God will never leave us. To remember God’s presence in our lives is to be bathed in grace, and that grace swirls around us continuously.

Although God’s grace is the spiritual reality of my life—“Lezlie, do not fear because God is here”—I am sorry to say I forget it without tangible ways to remind myself. One of the ways I remember is by using writing to bring the reality home in a way that sticks.

Once when I was speaking to a group of mothers of young children, I explored the steadfast presence of God by asking the mothers write for five minutes about whatever was the happiest thing in their lives. Then they turned over the paper and I asked them to write for five more minutes about whatever was the hardest thing in their lives. When they finished, they switched pens and pencils with their neighbors and I asked them to write all over both pages: “GOD IS HERE! GOD IS HERE! GOD IS HERE!” and “GOD IS MORE THAN HERE! GOD IS MORE THAN HERE! GOD IS MORE THAN HERE!” We had lots of fun doing this exercise, and it helped us all better remember that God is with us every minute, every day. Years later one of the mothers found her paper in a box of things she’d saved and she thanked me all over again. We relived together that moment of grace: God is with us!

Whether we are the happiest we have ever been or very sad and weary, we can hold on to the message Teresa of Avila heard so clearly: “Have no fear, my daughter, for I AM, and I will never leave you. Have no fear.” What a sweet moment of grace Teresa experienced! And that same sweet grace is available to us each moment…Thanks be to God who is with us always.