Hey Siri—Set a Reminder to Talk About God

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. – Deuteronomy 11:18-19 (NIV)

We should bind the word of the Lord on our hands, so that our work reflects it. God’s word should be on our forehead so that everyone we encounter can hold us accountable to living it.

A tall order, even before entering this time of global pandemic.  

A year plus has gone by with our circles of contact drawn close. It’s all well and good to affix God’s words to our doors. But they can’t engender much conversation if I have no dinner parties and no house guests for 14 months.

As life opens up again and circles of contact are drawn wider, we can turn to God’s counsel to the faithful: we should talk about where we have found God in this time. You know, with other people. Strange, right?   

Conversations about faith can be holy, tender, life-changing things. When two (or more) people share from their souls about how the holy has entered into their lives, the world shifts in deep and unexpected ways. 

But it takes preparation. So before that backyard dinner, take a hint from Deuteronomy.  Leave yourself some reminders. Write “talk about God” on the palm of your hand. Leave a sticky note you can’t miss on your door. Set reminders on your phone, one for when you get up in the morning and one before you lie down to sleep at night.

Help yourself remember to talk about God. You’ll be glad you did.

Prayer
God, help me to know you, and help me hear your voice in another’s story.

About the Author
John Edgerton is Lead Pastor at First United Church of Oak Park, Illinois.