"There is no life in the world happier than one of continual communion with God."—Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection

November 11th, 2024

📍San Miguel de Allende, GTO, Mexico

¡Saludos desde el desierto!

Last week was emotionally rough for many reasons. If you've been following along on my travel journey you know a lot of turmoil is going on in my and my family's lives right now. And without airing all of my dirty laundry, know that I am still in need of and grateful for your prayers.

The day I found out that my father had been admitted into the ER in Colorado for pulmonary hypertension (fluid on his heart and lungs), I spent the day here in SMA soaking in the Presence of the Lord while soaking my body in the aguas termales (hot springs) of Escondido Place.

Amid all this turmoil in the world and the lives of my loved ones, I had my first bout of homesickness (which I knew would show up sooner or later).

I thought it would feel like a longing to be home, but it wasn't that. I'm still so happy to be here. Instead, it was a keen awareness of how far away I am from my family and friends and that I am here in Mexico alone. Spending time "soaking in the Presence of God" helped remind me that even here in Mexico, I am never really alone.

Since facing extreme burnout five years ago, I have developed a daily practice of "soaking in the Presence of God," what a 17th-century monk named Brother Lawrence refers to as "practicing the Presence of God." In a biography written by one of his friends, Brother Lawrence describes this practice as nourishing our souls with thoughts of God, establishing ourselves in the felt sense of God's Presence through communion (communication).

Communing with God in this way is the foundation of the work YHWH has called me to do. To soak in God means to be present (in mind and body) in the Presence of God (communion of souls). This mind-body-soul connection to God has been a life-changing discipline for me and takes many forms.

In practice, I love to commune with YHWH in a hot bath, or in this case, a hot spring pool. I put on my headphones, press play on one of the #lotolistens soaking worship playlists or guided soaking meditations, and settle into a contemplative space of listening for God's voice speaking to my soul. When I don't have a tub, this happens on a contemplative prayer walk.

If you've ever been to any of the Loto Wellness online or in-person events, you know that I also love to incorporate somatic techniques (body-based practices like breathwork, long-held stretches that I call postures of prayer, and body-scan meditations), and creative arts into this practice. However it looks, the focus remains the same: being present with the Holy Spirit.

As a form of worship, a daily practice of sacrificing my time and attention to Jesus is how I refill my energetic cup with His Living Water.

Like so many of us, I can so quickly live a draining lifestyle of burnout trying to pour into others from empty. Rather than function from a place of scarcity and lack, like a dry sponge, I practice soaking myself daily in the Living Water to refill my energetic cup. This is what it means to me, as the flight attendants tell us in the case of an emergency, to apply my proverbial oxygen mask first before helping others. What a difference it makes to pour from the overflow of God's abundance instead of my human lack.

I pray that God's abundance of life in me will serve my family in their current struggles and that you, too, will find a soaking routine that helps you tap into the life-giving flow of the Holy Spirit.

With love,

Jennifer

Reflection Question: What does it mean to you personally to pour from God's abundance rather than your own limitations, and how could this shift impact how you show up for others?

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