I have a confession to make.  I don’t always have a “daily quiet time” with God, or at least not what one calls the “traditional daily quiet time”.  I used to try and get up early before work to have a quite time, but I would fall asleep again or forget what I had read.  So, I tried the next best thing, a quiet time at night.  Same result. I might be able to finish the Bible reading, but would fall asleep during the prayer.  Have you ever awakened to the heavy pins and needles pain in your hands as they have fallen asleep while folded in prayer?  It took me awhile to pry my hands apart, and while I was shaking the sleep from them, I was thinking to myself, “This isn’t working.”  My so called quiet times where becoming more of a chore time for me, another item to check off my “to do” list, and I was starting to feel guilty.  “Why is this so hard for me, Lord?  What’s wrong with me?  Am I not supposed to do this?  Everyone else I know does this.”  Don’t get me wrong.  I admire and respect my friends who have chosen to spend time with God this way.  It worked for them; it just wasn’t working for me.

One day I went for a walk alone, and as I walked I prayed.   I asked God to show me things.  “Lord, show me that you love me.  Lord, show me why I’m me.  Please show me something of yourself on this walk today.”  Guess what?  The Lord did.  As I walked, I started paying close attention to my surroundings, the trees, plants, flowers, birds.  Although many were from the same species, they were different.  No two flowers, birds, etc. were the same.   I got the most amazing revelation. It’s as if the Lord was saying to me: