“God makes us what we are and then gives us to ourselves as a gift,” writes Father Richard Rohr, the popular contemporary spiritual writer.  Rohr adds: “God also gives us a gift of each present moment saying: It’s yours do something great and powerful with me.”

This made me wonder if I have done any great and powerful things with my present moments. This question continued pestering me strolling among the hills of Kawatiri, a farm owned by my Australian friends whom I’m visiting.

 Kawatiri is nestled in the picturesque southern highlands of New South Wales with its fair share of cattle scattered throughout its low-lying misty hills and valleys all seeking scattered bits of shade. My internal musings were interrupted as I watched a mother cow feeding her hungry newborn.

Standing absolutely still, she allowed her new-born calf all the time needed tugging and yanking   until exhausted the calf had reached her fill. It was a generous act of giving without counting the cost.

Then the thought struck me: In some way, this mother cow joined with God turning this present moment into a great and powerful act. God gave life to the calf and now it was sustaining that life with the mother’s food. The ordinary everyday action of the birth of offspring and nourishing that life is a great and powerful act.  And it happened in the ordinary course of newfound life with God’s help.

Isn’t that our life too? Sometimes we stop in the middle of what we’re doing and stare into an imminent, present moment wondering about what it has in store.  Sometimes we tug, at other times we pull just like the hungry, newborn calf, who just wants to eat and be satisfied.  Sometimes we just stop and gaze into that present moment trying to decide its effect on my present life and we walk away!

It all comes down to the big risk Rohr said: It’s yours to do something great and powerful with me. The mother cow did just that. She walks away anticipating her next birth. I walked away trusting God and his next gift!

God makes us what we are and then gives us to ourselves as a gift.  Fr. Richard Rohr