A reflection on why God isn’t asking for your hustle or your spiritual output. Presence and availability, not productivity, are what make a person truly useful. This piece explores how surrender opens the door to the deeper life already trying to reach you.
♥️ This morning this feels like a song of affirmation . . . no matter what the world or “religion” says it’s okay to just BE🙏
I often quote from a long ago sermon preached by someone whose name I can’t remember (and I know he doesn’t need credit😌) - he said something that I desperately needed to hear: “if we understood even the tiniest thing about Love we could stop trying to get into a room we are already in!!” The home I grew up in and the religion I joined (and eventually left) insisted that I had to do, do, do to earn love that has ALWAYS been unconditional. That thought, suggestion, truth eventually set me free from the torment of feeling I could and would NEVER measure up. Not that I don’t catch myself going there again once in a while but now I can hear Spirit gently remind me that “I am enough”. It is in the “room” of love and acceptance and the knowledge that I was born beloved where I am growing able to just “be” more and more. Knowing just being is ok, is where the magic, the joy that is life as it is meant to be is where my spiritual journey
I just LOVE the sermon you shared about already in being in a room of love. I’m stealing that if you don’t mind & hanging it up on the wall. Thank you for sharing XO 💖
During my life I started as a frenetic doer, then slowed down with illness and finally have ended up only able to be.
I was in a great parish with focus on Social Justice years ago. I really understand the beauty and service of that focus. But as you fail physically, you are moved out of the circle of participation. Then you spend years to try to understand being and it's value.
I just feel more and more many of our approaches to faith are either incomplete or backwards. Your writing is a clear call to refocus. Thank you.
This is the truth i felt when i was taught about God as a child but the church & preachers i heard never ever shared this as truth, in this way. You had to earn God’s love by doing. Being wasnt mentioned. Nor listening to god. All the miracles in the Bible? They don’t happen anymore, they’re lessons & we just learn from them & be good & love God & Jesus & follow the 10 commandments & Sermon on the Mount.
Now i can feel this truth again and BE. And listen. And actually hear.
Oh absolutely. Elton sneaks in like incense through a cracked window. And honestly, “Jesus freaks out in the streets handing tickets out for God” is basically half the inbox I get whenever I tell people God cares more about presence than productivity.
I kinda feel like he hits both points with that verse, though. The obvious one is the busy bees handing out their literature. Less obvious, perhaps, is the LA Lady who isn’t looking for a God she just knows is there and doesn’t need to be “found”. Even on the boulevard.
For a while I couldn’t hear it without seeing the bus scene from “Almost Famous”, but they did a new video for it a few years ago (probably to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the album) and now that’s what I see on the back of my third eyelid. There’s a particular scene in it that really resonates with me. It’s a woman sitting in her car outside a liquor store with tears in her eyes, clutching a sobriety chip like it’s a life preserver. I don’t think we ever see how that works out in the end, but I’m hoping she got through it.
Oh James, I never saw the new video & I’m in AA & that so easily could’ve been me. I still clasp my chip like it’s a life preserver sometimes & so far itz never let me sink/drink. I’m gonna believe she got through it. 🤞💖
I just crossed the 26-year line, and it could've been me too. I'm past the white-knuckle phase, but all that means is I have to watch for complacency closer than ever.
I just watched it again, and I'm still not sure. That may have been intentional, though. You get to write your own ending, and maybe that's the point. But I still found myself holding my breath every time she appeared on screen. If she was only acting, she nailed it.
wow. this definitely did make me breathe deeper. it’s so in alignment & again proves just how every moment leading up to this was divinely guided, my presence & will to be guided brought me to yet another synchronicity/confirmation. beautifully written.
I’m glad it landed that way. What you’re naming is something I’ve heard many seekers describe. When you stop pushing and start listening, life answers in echoes. Synchronicity isn’t magic. It’s what happens when your attention finally lines up with your spirit.
Thank you for answering probably every question i have ever had about a relationship with God. How availability & presence work together. How the way I’ve lived my whole life (like much of the world, from what I observe & this post pretty much agreed with), however well intentioned, was pretty much off the mark. Thank you in every language i don’t know. ❣️💓💗💖💘💝. Mucho gracias, vielen dank, merci beaucoup
You’re a light. The truth is you were never off the mark. You were just carrying more weight than anyone was meant to haul alone. Availability isn’t a new skill for you. It’s the thing in you that has been trying to breathe for years.
I’m just glad the words helped name what your soul already knew. Blessed be the ones who finally stop sprinting long enough to let God catch up.
Thank you, Brother Aleks, this is one of your best articles this year. I just moved back to the city — the land of hustle & lots of traffic & noise. Being busy is the most valued currency around here. It really helps to be reminded of Presence!🙏
♥️ This morning this feels like a song of affirmation . . . no matter what the world or “religion” says it’s okay to just BE🙏
I often quote from a long ago sermon preached by someone whose name I can’t remember (and I know he doesn’t need credit😌) - he said something that I desperately needed to hear: “if we understood even the tiniest thing about Love we could stop trying to get into a room we are already in!!” The home I grew up in and the religion I joined (and eventually left) insisted that I had to do, do, do to earn love that has ALWAYS been unconditional. That thought, suggestion, truth eventually set me free from the torment of feeling I could and would NEVER measure up. Not that I don’t catch myself going there again once in a while but now I can hear Spirit gently remind me that “I am enough”. It is in the “room” of love and acceptance and the knowledge that I was born beloved where I am growing able to just “be” more and more. Knowing just being is ok, is where the magic, the joy that is life as it is meant to be is where my spiritual journey
I just LOVE the sermon you shared about already in being in a room of love. I’m stealing that if you don’t mind & hanging it up on the wall. Thank you for sharing XO 💖
This comment. Amazing, amazing! Your words have reached me, they opened up what I already knew but I was afraid to admit. thank you.💕
♥️🫂
Is where my spiritual journey really began.
“You become useful to God in the exact proportion that you stop trying to be impressive.”…Whew! Thank you for that much needed reminder.
You get what you pay for in capitalist churches
VMB
This one really touched my heart.
During my life I started as a frenetic doer, then slowed down with illness and finally have ended up only able to be.
I was in a great parish with focus on Social Justice years ago. I really understand the beauty and service of that focus. But as you fail physically, you are moved out of the circle of participation. Then you spend years to try to understand being and it's value.
I just feel more and more many of our approaches to faith are either incomplete or backwards. Your writing is a clear call to refocus. Thank you.
This would go under the “essays that I love” tab if I had one. Thank you for this🫶🏾
There’s always the bookmark folder option. 😁
This is the truth i felt when i was taught about God as a child but the church & preachers i heard never ever shared this as truth, in this way. You had to earn God’s love by doing. Being wasnt mentioned. Nor listening to god. All the miracles in the Bible? They don’t happen anymore, they’re lessons & we just learn from them & be good & love God & Jesus & follow the 10 commandments & Sermon on the Mount.
Now i can feel this truth again and BE. And listen. And actually hear.
Did anybody else read the intro paragraph and immediately start hearing “Tiny Dancer” on the iHead?
“Jesus freaks, out in the streets
Handing tickets out for God
Looking back, she just laughs
The boulevard is not that bad.”
It kind of feels related. But if it isn’t, at least it’s a song I like.
Oh absolutely. Elton sneaks in like incense through a cracked window. And honestly, “Jesus freaks out in the streets handing tickets out for God” is basically half the inbox I get whenever I tell people God cares more about presence than productivity.
I kinda feel like he hits both points with that verse, though. The obvious one is the busy bees handing out their literature. Less obvious, perhaps, is the LA Lady who isn’t looking for a God she just knows is there and doesn’t need to be “found”. Even on the boulevard.
No but I’m hearing it now loud & clear & that song makes me melt, it just pours thru me 💗
For a while I couldn’t hear it without seeing the bus scene from “Almost Famous”, but they did a new video for it a few years ago (probably to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the album) and now that’s what I see on the back of my third eyelid. There’s a particular scene in it that really resonates with me. It’s a woman sitting in her car outside a liquor store with tears in her eyes, clutching a sobriety chip like it’s a life preserver. I don’t think we ever see how that works out in the end, but I’m hoping she got through it.
There’s a reason it’s a classic.
Oh James, I never saw the new video & I’m in AA & that so easily could’ve been me. I still clasp my chip like it’s a life preserver sometimes & so far itz never let me sink/drink. I’m gonna believe she got through it. 🤞💖
I just crossed the 26-year line, and it could've been me too. I'm past the white-knuckle phase, but all that means is I have to watch for complacency closer than ever.
I just watched it again, and I'm still not sure. That may have been intentional, though. You get to write your own ending, and maybe that's the point. But I still found myself holding my breath every time she appeared on screen. If she was only acting, she nailed it.
https://youtu.be/yYcyacLRPNs?si=g7BLcIa7vwI1_J61
She sure did. Been there, done that, so many times. Thank my Higher Power i haven’t in a long time. Thank you so much for sharing that. 💔❤️🩹
wow. this definitely did make me breathe deeper. it’s so in alignment & again proves just how every moment leading up to this was divinely guided, my presence & will to be guided brought me to yet another synchronicity/confirmation. beautifully written.
I’m glad it landed that way. What you’re naming is something I’ve heard many seekers describe. When you stop pushing and start listening, life answers in echoes. Synchronicity isn’t magic. It’s what happens when your attention finally lines up with your spirit.
Thank you for answering probably every question i have ever had about a relationship with God. How availability & presence work together. How the way I’ve lived my whole life (like much of the world, from what I observe & this post pretty much agreed with), however well intentioned, was pretty much off the mark. Thank you in every language i don’t know. ❣️💓💗💖💘💝. Mucho gracias, vielen dank, merci beaucoup
You’re a light. The truth is you were never off the mark. You were just carrying more weight than anyone was meant to haul alone. Availability isn’t a new skill for you. It’s the thing in you that has been trying to breathe for years.
I’m just glad the words helped name what your soul already knew. Blessed be the ones who finally stop sprinting long enough to let God catch up.
This is incredible. Every word. Thank you 💕
Thank you, Brother Aleks, this is one of your best articles this year. I just moved back to the city — the land of hustle & lots of traffic & noise. Being busy is the most valued currency around here. It really helps to be reminded of Presence!🙏