What Is God Saying...
Consider this, that it is God who is acting on you - actively acting
- through the very existence of the earth itself, as well as in
the daily events in the lives of individuals and of nations that
are shaping the world we now inhabit. For example, what can you
learn about the gift of life itself in the beauty of a cool clear
morning, as well as in the bone-weary fatigue at the end of a long
day? In the angry traffic you might get tangled up in? in the
impatient words of a stranger behind you in the post office? in
the warmth of a phone conversation with a client or a friend? Or
think further, what is God asking you to see or to understand in
these events? How might God be shaping you, guiding you, preparing
you through these encounters? Or to go further, what can you perceive
about the gift of life itself in the news of terrorism, bombing,
anthrax and an uncertain future for the peoples of the world?

-- From "Literature as an Invitation to Spiritual Growth
An Online Book Group:'Traveling Mercies' Discussion Guide"
by the Rev. Margaret Gunness

Read the essay in its entirety.