No place I'd rather be
No place I'd rather be
No place I'd rather be
Than here in your love,
Than here in your love
Set a fire down in my soul
That I can’t contain that I can’t control
I want more of you God
I want more of you God
I enjoyed this song so much that I recently downloaded it on my phone and have played it on repeat for the last few days. In these last few days, however, I have been swamped with working. I’ve done 7- and 8-hour shifts in the gym coaching this past week.
On Tuesday, I snuck out to take a bathroom break in the middle of one of the practices. I had been there for four hours already and hardly had any time to think about anything but gymnastics. As I went to wash my hands, my mind cleared all thoughts of work. As I did this, I heard faint lyrics in my head:
No place I'd rather be
No place I'd rather be
No place I'd rather be
My original thought was, ‘Well I can think of multiple places I would rather be right now, but the bathroom of Kids First Sports Center is certainly not one of them…’ Then, as I walked back into the gym, I remembered the rest of the lyrics:
Than here in your love,
Than here in your love
I remembered that even as I washed my hands in the Kids First bathroom, I was still wrapped in God’s love. I was also reminded of a somewhat familiar passage of Scripture:
“Then the LORD said: Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will pass by. There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD—but the LORD was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake; after the earthquake, fire—but the LORD was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, ‘Why are you here, Elijah?’” (1 Kings 19:11-13)
In the passage, God does not speak to Elijah in the loud winds or in the earthquake or in the fire. God speaks to Elijah in the “silent sound”. As soon as I had removed myself from the busyness of the gym and was alone in the bathroom, I could hear God’s voice.
In our world, we need to remind ourselves that God does not always work through loud displays of power. Sometimes it is in the simple and quiet sound that God works. Let us remember this as we follow our busy schedules this week.
Saint James. Ora pro nobis.
Saint Francis of Assisi. Ora pro nobis.
Saint Margaret Clitherow. Ora pro nobis.
Chawkins.
(P.S. I will now use the above three intercessory prayers as my sign off. St. James, in honor of Fr. James. St. Francis, because he is my Confirmation. St. Margaret, in honor of my home parish. "Ora pro nobis" is Latin for "Pray for us".)