My Little Burning Bush

Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. // Exodus 3:5

After a comically long (though not unusual) dinner-bath-bedtime routine complete with stories, prayers, extra hugs, and drinks of water, I tucked the last of my children in bed and sat down at my computer to get some work done. After twenty minutes or so of silence, a small voice at my doorway said, “Mama? I can’t sleep.” 

Taking a deep breath to quell my initial frustration, I got up from my desk and wrapped my daughter in a big hug. She needed me, one-on-one, in a way that our busy day had not allowed. In the quiet of her bedroom, her mind and heart were racing, and she needed me to share her burdens. She needed my undivided attention. The other work would have to wait.

Our lives are filled with twists, turns, and interruptions. We make plans, and inevitably have to adjust when life doesn’t quite cooperate. Maybe the things we view as inconveniences and interruptions are really our “burning bush” moments. Think back on the times when God has used something unexpected to stop you in your tracks, providing clarity on where to go next or how best to spend your time. Holiness is walking that line between virtuous pursuit of what we ought to do, and openness to the movement of the Holy Spirit. It takes a lot of humility to accept that our plans are not His.

Lord, please give us the grace to welcome interruptions from You today. Help us to hold our plans loosely, and faithfully follow wherever You lead.