Hanging out and waiting for things to happen

Sometimes waiting for God can seem like "waiting for Godot" - you can google the reference. It seems like a sense of limbo and it can be distracting. Even if I am praying about what seems to be a life-changing decision for me...like a big change in occupation...that shouldn't become the focus of my life. It's easy to put the "idea" of following God, ahead of following God. What? Think about it. It's like worshiping the Bible, and not understanding the words lead you to worship the Creator. It's like worshiping a relic of the cross and not remembering the what the cross means to you as a Christian believer. In the same way...waiting for God can be an idol in itself.

I'm not saying God doesn't lead me to times of prayer, meditation, and reflection. But there are still hungry and hurting people in my path. And I don't get to say to them...wait...I need to see if I can help you...it may not be God's will for me right now. Ha...

On NPR there was a story of a man in Karachi, Pakistan...uneducated, untrained in anything. He started one of the biggest social service networks in the country. He has clinics for babies and buries the anonymous dead. It's an amazing story. He doesn't have to ask God what to do today...it's right in front of him every day.

So for me, let me not forget the relationship...with God, with my neighbor. Let me not forget my neighbor extends beyond my immediate vision, beyond my neighborhood, my social class, my race, and even my borders. My neighbor is the entire world. Open my eyes Lord, that I may see...Open my heart Lord, that I may respond...with your strength...not my own.