The Grace of Sitting - For Liam

Readings 110825 

My seven-year-old grandson, Liam, was marveling at God’s creativity the other day. Eyes wide. Voice steady. He said,
“God created everything. Things I’d never think of—like butts. I would have never thought of creating butts. But God did. They’re two round, soft cushions, perfect for sitting on.”

Now, I know that might make you laugh. But I didn’t laugh. I was stunned.
Because this child—who once couldn’t sit still for more than a heartbeat, whose ADHD made stillness feel like a stranger—is now finding God in the quiet of his own body.
In the miracle of sitting.
In the ordinary.

And I thought how God speaks to us from unlikely places.

Paul speaks of a mystery once hidden, now revealed.
A truth made known through revelation.
One that comes from the eternal God—offered to all nations. 

Just like Tertius.
Tucked into the end of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he signs off:
“I, Tertius, the writer of this letter, greet you in the Lord.”
I’ve read that passage many times. But I never saw him.
Never noticed the scribe behind the apostle.
The quiet one who carried the message.

Jesus reminds us:
The one who is faithful in small things is faithful in great ones. 

So today, I thank God for the small things.
For scribes.
For stillness.
For the greatness of God’s creation that helps a child sit and see.
For the grace to listen.
To notice.
To greet one another—in the Lord.

Prayer of Stillness and Surprise

Lord of wonder,
You speak through the things we often miss—
a child’s voice, a quiet moment,
a body finally at rest.

You reveal Your mystery not just in the grand and glorious,
but in the ordinary,
in the stillness,
in the grace of sitting down.

Thank You for the voice that catches our breath,
for the gift of noticing,
for the small things that carry Your truth.

Teach us to be faithful in what’s little,
so we may be faithful in what’s great.
Help us greet one another in You—
with joy,
with reverence,
with hearts open to Your surprising Word.

Amen.