Better A Sponge Than A Rock! …Hello weekend readers. This week was wonderful, a time off for us in the Mini-Lite Camper exploring the Cochiti Pueblo, etc. The rock formations were incredible. It’s no wonder that Northern New Mexico is dubbed as “a place with more anomalies of geology in all of North America.” My younger sister is a geologist; she can tell you that it is so true. So I am musing on rocks and sponges…hang on, it’s interesting if not a tad crazy!

I love the saying “You will never go where God is not” and for us in our explorations where we can get lost, God is there keeping us in the right place—kind of makes me think of a good roadmap! Where do you see yourself? School, work, church, vacation, family gatherings, at the bedside of a loved one, a funeral home saying goodbyes, etc. No matter where you are, God inhabits that very place, including your heart, soul, and mind. God’s presence will linger among you so take in his presence and remember this Scripture from Acts: 17:27, “He is not far from each one of us.”

God does not play favorites. From the masses on the city avenues to the isolated villagers in valleys and jungles—all people can enjoy God’s presence. But many don’t. Instead, they keep their plodding through life as if there was no God and no ability to change. What they are really doing is saying “it’s all on me, I have no one else.” Sadly, they wind up living Godless lives. Maybe you have experienced that as well. In many ways, we all have been in that situation, but the remedy is to get out of it and look and feel and hear the presence of God.

Think of Moses, who wound up with the task of caring over 2 million “ex-slaves”—now that’s a tough job. Food, supplies, helpers with experience and so much more for such a huge group! And in every turn there were enemies to fight. Moses could have thrown his hands up in the air and said, “Nope, not doing it.” Instead he stood steadfast in prayer and he said to God: “If Your presence doesn’t travel with us, then don’t lead us away from here.” 

Think about the ‘Moses’ people you know, the people who sense, see and hear the presence of God. Learn from them, and ask God to give you all that you need to hear God, walk with God, and learn from God.

What we need right now is to make God’s presence our passion. How? Here is the wisdom about the rock and the sponge…

1) Be more sponge and less rock. Place a rock in the ocean, and what happens? Its surface gets wet. The exterior may change color, but the interior remains heard and untouched.

2) Place a sponge in the ocean, and notice the change. It absorbs the water. The ocean penetrates every pore and alters the essence of the sponge, flexible and usable.

God surrounds us in the same way the Pacific surrounds an ocean floor pebble. God is everywhere – above, below, on all sides. So, we choose our response – a rock or a sponge? Resist or receive? These are the tough choices in life and too often everything within us says harden the heart–run from God–resist God–blame God, he isn’t helping me, he isn’t doing what I want him to do. But be very careful, because hard hearts never heal. But guess what: Spongy ones do! Open every pore of your soul, give it to God and find the peace and hope your life is craving for. Be like Moses—who preferred to go nowhere with God than anywhere without him, no matter the tough road ahead. AMEN.