“God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress.” A priest once shared along my spiritual journey of discernment and the time I began to encounter a true spiritual awakening, a most profound insight that has changed my life and has enhanced and enriched my true identity as a beloved child of God, formed the basis of my spirituality and prayer life and has increased my faith, my hope, my belief, my confidence, my longing for and trust in God. He shared God’s name with me. God’s true name which is accessible to all, approachable always, a name one can call upon, rely upon and know that by His most sacred name, God is most present, attentive and always listening but a name that requires us also to be present, attentive and listening as well. He said, God is I AM. I am here, I am present, I am listening to you always. Listening attentively to your call, your worries, your concerns, your grumblings and all your fears. I AM here with you now. I AM here with you always. I AM here with you when you sleep and awaken. I AM here when you stress or are rejoicing. I AM here when you cry out or are laughing. I AM here when you live and when you are dying. I AM. He also shared that God’s name is not, I WAS, when you are stuck in your past, when you forget that God is with you and you rely on yourselves or turn to another to assist you and provide help or become your refuge instead of God. We think of God as I WAS when we dwell and live in the past. When we become overly consumed and overly worldly focused and centered on the past with all its hurts and failures, wounds, and disappointments, its unforgiveness and all our disordered desires and overt sinfulness, along with our most embarrassing moments and humiliating experiences. He said, I AM here with you always, for all the ages to come. My name is, I AM. I am not; I WAS. He also shared I am not, I WILL BE, when we are totally distracted, so focused on daydreaming, or insist on fantasizing about nudity, profanity, or disordered ambitions. I AM here present to you at this very moment and every moment and breath of life. I am not, I WILL BE, with your thoughts racing to the future without me, where your hopes rely on you or another rather than on me.
