“God sweeping over the waters…” – Genesis 1:1-2
Movement and exercise have rarely been of value to me. I didn’t see that as part of my spiritual life or connection to God. I’ve prayed with Scriptures that focused on quiet and stillness such as where God came to Elijah in the cave (I Kings19:11-13) or Ps. 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.”
I’ve been drawn to books such as Whispers in the Stillness: Mindfulness and Spiritual Awakening by Martha Lehane Sheehan. I’ve made spiritual retreats to try to become more interiorly quiet and spiritually centered.
But recently the theme that has been running through my night dreams has been movement and exercise.
Why at this time of my life, I wondered. Probably it’s because that’s part of my life that I’ve neglected. A part of life many people seem to not only value but enjoy, though I haven’t. I’ve reflected on the question of where is God in all this movement and exercise.
I was reminded that in the very beginning in Genesis, God moved over the waters. Only after moving over the waters did God speak creation.
So I pray and ask myself, what new life or creation could come from my exercising or moving more?
Maybe it won’t be something new but more of an awareness of my body’s need to move to be healthy. Perhaps it’s just to realize that God is in movement as well as in silence. Maybe it’s to remind me that lasting growth comes slowly and usually only after much practice and sometimes pain.
So my new spiritual practices is to schedule a specific time for conscious movement and/or exercise.
My prayer:
God, You who swept over the waters, create in me an appreciation for movement and the new awareness or life that can come from it. Thank you for the awareness that you are present in movement as well as in stillness. Amen.
