More from April McIntyre

I wonder whether you would be surprised to encounter God in the middle of your daily tasks: checking your mobile phone, sorting laundry, taking the dog for a walk? This is what happened to me when I was sitting in front of my laptop trying to work. But I was tired and inspiration was non-existent. I started messing around, changing the background colors and themes on the desktop. Then unexpectedly I stumbled across the set of photographs that completely changed my mood.

Perhaps Moses experienced something like this in Genesis 3. He wasn’t seeking God—he wasn’t praying or doing anything “religious.” He was just getting on with his ordinary day, tending the flocks of his father-in-law. Perhaps he was bored. Perhaps he had forgotten about Egypt and the suffering Israelites. Yet he saw the brightness and heard the crackling of a bush on fire. Curiosity drew him nearer and then—God spoke. That was the beginning of Moses’ call to lead God’s people out of slavery.

There’s a famous poem called “Leisure” by W. H. Davies which begins:

“What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?”

This is a poem I have loved all my life, and it reminds us that we should never become so driven by work and obligations that not even God can get our attention! Giving ourselves time to stand (or sit) and stare can open our minds and hearts to the wonders of the world around us. I remember as a student walking home after church one rainy night, marveling at the way the light from the street lamps was reflected in the puddles. My heart filled with wonder and praise. I remember bending down to examine an osteospermum flower in our garden, its beautiful petals opening in the early morning sunshine to track the sun all day. I was totally focused, as if worshiping in contemplative stillness.

These days, I often stand at the kitchen window looking out onto the back garden, watching birds mobbing the bird table and feeders. They are just ordinary garden birds but they are all quite different: cheeping, squabbling sparrows; a solitary, hunting blackbird; a cheeky robin singing on a slender branch; or aggressive magpies arrogantly strutting across the lawn. God made each one. God cares for each one—and for us.

God, the I AM, is always with us, always loving us, always ready to “speak.” But are we willing to stop, to listen and respond?