Sunday Devotion

Welcome to the Sunday Devotion. In the DC area, today has been a wonderful respite from the heat we have experienced recently. The high yesterday was 99o F, humid, and miserable. However, this morning when I walked outside, it was a cool, breezy 70o F and the contrast was shocking. It made me relax, smile, and just close my eyes and feel the breeze. I thought of the breeze being like the Holy Spirit. Can you feel it? Let me help free your mind and take you on a journey where you, too, can feel the Holy Spirit breezing past you and around you, settling upon you and helping you feel the presence of God.

If you aren’t where the weather is beautiful and breezy, find yourself a cool spot near an air conditioner or a fan and let the breeze flow over you. Wherever you are, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Say either out loud, in your mind, or sing in soft, low tones, “Come Holy Spirit, Come. Come, Holy Spirit Come….” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEISMqHTWV0)

This song awakens me to wonderful memories of sitting around evening campfires with people who are seeking the spirit of God at this mutual moment. We pause our activities, we empty our thoughts of everything but God and the Holy Spirit and we allow the music to fill us.  Fill that empty space where to-do lists once ruled, fill it with gentle calls of “Come Holy Spirit, come. Come, Holy Spirit, come…”

As I’m reliving that Zen-filled moment of quiet and dusting off memories of years past, my mind’s eye sees campfire flames flickering upwards, sometimes in a soft wave, sometimes crackling as bits of bright ember burst out in a small spray. “Come, Holy Spirit, come. Come, Holy Spirit, come…”. Come in the silence, come in the minute sounds of the forest behind us or the lapping of the waves on the nearby shore. Can you see it? Can you feel it? Where are you as you focus your mind, then your heart, and seek the Holy Spirit?

Perhaps you are someone who finds music to be the gentle conductor of the Holy Spirit. Here is another beckoning song, calling out in faith and anticipation, perhaps even desperation, trusting that the invited guest is settling in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDyX80iN4S4

What speaks to you and opens your heart, mind and soul to the presence of the Holy Spirit?

Where have you had your encounters, no matter how small? And when was it not a gentle breeze, but a knock-you-down, mighty wind?

Share your stories.  But if this memory, or this moment, is so personal you don’t want to put it into words, allow that. But, by all means, let it breathe and live. Come, Holy Spirit, come…

Author: Bonnie Barber