Those of us who take part in an apostolate are used to looking for ways of explaining the presence of God in the easiest way possible, so that even the simplest of our friends can understand something so great. We struggle trying to understand the 5 ways of proving the existence of God, studying till late and trying to translate the documents offered to us by the Magisterium of the Church. We quote saints and popes, and many of us even take risks, using more creative resources and less conventional methods (but no less effective) showing videos, creating PowerPoint presentations, or visiting Catholic-Link daily to check out what new resource we could use in our religious formation class.
But God makes things easier for us than we could expect. After all, He became a man, and in so doing has passed through the same human experiences as us, like hunger, cold, tiredness, sore feet, etc. Therefore, every human experience teaches us something about God. Everything is full of God, because God Himself experienced all these things, turning them into divine experiences.
So today we offer some ideas to help you realize (or communicate to others) that God has been there, passing perhaps undetected, but always present and ready to listen to you. We are sure you’ve experienced the existence of God in your own life; this is a great way to understand and explain His real presence, invoking universal human experience.
10 Non-Religious Times In Life To Prove God Exists
1. The first time you become a father or mother
It is difficult to explain the sensation of giving life. God is the One who gives life, but, in His infinite love, He lets us be co-creators with Him and collaborate in his plan. Carrying in your arms a person you MADE, but who is at the same time a product of God’s Will, is without a doubt a spiritual experience.
2. When you are amazed by the immensity of the sky
There are moments when we discover that the scope of our vision and understanding is minuscule, that everything is in the hands of someone greater than us. There’s nothing we can do to change the color of the sky, the shapes of clouds, or the light that comes through your window. And that’s just the stuff we can see! How much more exists in creation that we are not capable of seeing or understanding!
3. When you find yourself contemplating your own hands
Perfect and yet imperfect. Skillfully designed, so delicate, yet so firm. To look at how life and chores have aged them, perhaps, but nevertheless, they are still the same… and miraculous: those hands God thought about and designed for you.
4. When you notice you’ve had a long conversation with yourself
We are not mere pieces of flesh or mechanical objects. There’s something inside us that aspires to the highest, that seeks after the good, that longs (often even without knowing it) for God. Talking to yourself, confronting yourself, solving questions or problems… We are not a product of chance. Being as complex and complete as we are is the Will and the result of God’s unbounded creativity.
5. That day when your heart is inexplicably at peace
There are external causes for calm, like financial security, physical health, family stability, among others, but even if any of these aspects isn’t going as well as we would like, there are times when we find a peace in our heart that we can’t factually explain. It’s as if someone had just put it there.
6. When we feel loved
It’s not just a matter of acceptance and self-esteem, it’s greater than that. Feeling loved is also feeling worthy, is understanding that I am valuable and that even though human love is limited and full of vulnerabilities, this love is a glimmer that shows us how God’s love is, and gives us hints about how it feels to be loved by Him.
7. When human achievements amaze you
It’s as if there were still some lingering sighs of that initial breath that formed everything in creation. We are so accustomed to human intelligence and the speed at which it solves everyday problems, inconveniences, or even things we didn’t know we wanted. But we don’t realize that just by taking a couple of steps back, we could contemplate and be amazed at what man has created, and how God has given us the intelligence to collaborate with His perfection, and create things as incredible as the skyscrapers and as simple as a spoon.
8. When the person we least expect has faith
It’s common to make some kind of unintentional judgement about someone else’s life and faith. It’s also common to “diagnose” some people as a “lost cause,” since we think that in their system of values, the experience of faith doesn’t fit. But when we see some of those lost sheep” show a glimmer of faith, our hearts light up and hope is revived. When we see them making the sign of the cross, talking about God, sharing messages or quotes about God and faith, and even when they ask for our prayers, our hearts fill with God’s love, as we understand that He is even in the the hearts of those we least expected.
9. When things start to get better after you had given up all hope
Sometimes it seems as if God is waiting for us to reach our limit, and when there’s nothing else we can do, He starts to act. It may have happened to you that the doors that had been frozen shut inexplicably begin to open, and that situation or struggle which seemed without a solution is suddenly unlocked.
10. When we accompany a loved one in the last moments of life
It is painful but seen from the point of view of faith, it’s inspiring and comforting to accompany a loved one and see him depart to the encounter with God with a heart full of peace. Those who have accompanied their loved ones in their last moments of life can attest to the intensity of the situation, but also to the peace and consolation of knowing their loved one has gone home to be with the Lord.
This post was translated into English by Lorena Tabares. You may find the original article on the Catholic-Link Spanish page, here.
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