Standing with Arms Wide: Embracing Wonder, Mystery, and Divine Presence

I'm not a good golfer.  I might have been decent once, if I'd been willing to spend the hours that it takes to become better, but I'm never truly good at it.  

This realization doesn't deter me from occasionally playing golf, and I enjoy the experience unless it's unbearably hot outside or raining.  But there's one thing that keeps me coming back to it more than any other: I tend to hit at least one really good shot every round.  

That one shot, which usually comes as a surprise, makes me believe that I may be able to make another. When I have the opportunity, I head back to the links and try again.

The reason the golf analogy came to mind today is because I  was thinking about the longing I have to experience the presence of God in miraculous ways — ways that astound me and fill my heart until it feels as though it may burst.  

Because I have felt that presence before, I know what it means to feel it.  The moments when I've felt it acutely are often years in the past, but still I remember them, and long to feel that feeling again.  

I'm continuing to learn just how critical openness is to experiencing God's presence, and the following poem by Mary Oliver speaks directly to this: 

  

There are things you can’t reach. But
You can reach out to them, and all day long.
The wind, the bird flying away. The idea of god.
And it can keep you busy as anything else, and happier.
I look; morning to night, I am never done with looking.
Looking I mean not just standing around, but standing around
As though with your arms open.

Mary Oliver’s words beautifully capture the essence of a heart that remains open to the wonder and mystery of creation. To reach out with an open heart is to acknowledge that the divine is ever-present, flowing through every gust of wind, every soaring bird, and every whisper of intuition. 

It’s a gentle reminder that while we may never fully grasp the fullness of God's majesty, our willingness to seek, observe, and stand with open arms creates a sacred space for connection. That open-hearted stance invites us to see the divine not only in the grandeur of the universe but also within ourselves.

This posture of openness aligns deeply with biblical truths. In James 4:8, we are encouraged: “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” Our willingness to reach out and open our hearts invites divine presence into our lives. 

Just as Oliver describes looking with arms open, so we too are called to approach life and the divine with vulnerability, curiosity, and reverence. In doing so, we find that the divine responds, embracing us with love, insight, and grace we might not have encountered in any other way.

Living with an open heart means embracing the mystery of creation—not knowing everything, but trusting that God’s hand guides us. It involves standing in awe of the beauty around us and within us, recognizing the divine fingerprints on every moment. 

When we stay curious and receptive, we allow ourselves to be changed and inspired by what God reveals in the everyday—through nature, through others, and through our own soul’s whispers.

I encourage you today to live heart-forward—vulnerable and open to what God has to teach. Cultivate a spirit of wonder, standing with arms open, eager to receive the divine surprises that await. 

Remember, the divine is not distant or separate but near, flowing through all of creation, waiting for us to reach out with an open heart. As we do, our lives become a dance of discovery—joyful, blessed, and deeply connected to the sacred mystery that sustains and surrounds us. 

Let your heart be the vessel through which God’s love and wonder flow endlessly.

May it be so for all of us, and may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all, now and forever. Amen.