A new year is ahead of us. It is filled with possibilities and endless opportunities for mistakes and great accomplishments. There is within many of us, paradoxically, both fear and excitement in the thought of what the year will bring. We remember 2004. The memory of that year’s events is fresh still in our minds, and in some ways we carry over its challenges. We are cautious, though, to not carry over too much, for the new year will add its own experiences to our story.

I have the blessed experience to walk with people during the most exhilarating and joyous times of their lives, as well as those times when taking a deep breath is a challenge because of the trauma associated with some event in life that doubles one over with great sadness and pain. These are profoundly contrasting experiences. These events are in some respects at polar extremes on the horizontal scale of life. They are experiences that are loaded with the heavy weight of human emotion and spiritual fullness. They are events that cause chapters to be written in our life’s story.

At one extreme – where happiness and celebration flood in – we are reminded of the joy of life and the love of family and friends. We are reminded that life is teeming with hope and anticipation. We want more of those experiences and we are saddened a bit when those times pass, but trust that other similar times lie in wait. At the other extreme – where darkness casts a long shadow and time seems to stand suspended – we are numbed by the events unfolding. We are shaken, perhaps, by the death of a loved one or by the loss of a long-time relationship. Our hearts pound with sadness. Each waking moment is filled with the painfulness of reality. We struggle to place one foot ahead of the other. We are reminded of life’s tenuousness.

On this horizontal scale of life – our story line of life’s experiences – we tend to move back and forth. We have many experiences in between those “polar” experiences. What is truly amazing for me is how I witness God’s presence there. (I can imagine you expecting me to make this statement, but that is truly what I experience.)

As a pastor one has the singularly unique opportunity to witness up-close and personal the unfolding events in the lives of others. Many times they are what I call “polar” experiences, but many times there are the events of life that lie in between. They are the normal challenges of family life. They are relationships struggling to love more consistently. They are discussions over a meal that share the blessing of conversation about a new job or an update on the illness of a family member far away. I want you to know – God’s Spirit leads me to tell you – that God is present there, at the “polar” experiences and in between. God so desires for you to know this truth, to feel this truth.

Whatever your circumstance, stop and close your eyes and sense God’s presence. In the joyous times, stop and close your eyes and sense God’s presence. In the events when dark shadows fall, stop and close your eyes and sense God’s presence. All the times in between, stop…and sense God’s presence.

Right now, prepare to stop reading this article. Prepare to close your eyes and open your heart to sense God’s presence. Go ahead a try it (what can it hurt?). Stop and close your eyes and sense God’s presence.

May each moment of your life, beginning now, be an ever-deeper awareness of God’s presence in your life. God is there. I witness it every day, and it is amazing to me.

Pastor Randy