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Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life—Psalm 23:6 (The Message)

Poverty forced a young Nicholas Herman into joining the army for survival. A war injury and a failed attempt as a footman led him to join a monastery in Paris where, as Brother Lawrence, he could “suffer for his failures.”

Throughout his day, whether cooking, cleaning floors, or mending sandals, he simply glanced over and noticed God with the eyes of his heart. Like a parent continually aware of the whereabouts of a toddler (whether at church or in a shopping mall), Brother Lawrence became mindful of the nearness of God in all of his daily activities.

In his classic book, Practicing the Presence of God, he wrote about how to return the gaze of God and remember him in the ordinary moments of the day. He called these occasions “little interior glances.”

“Little interior glances” are moments of remembering, noticing, or seeking God’s presence in the midst of whatever is. It might be a memory, the sensation of hope, awareness of an abiding Presence, or subtle joy at being alive. Like air bubbles surfacing from the bottom of a fish tank, these noticings emerge into our conscious awareness within the ordinary activities of our daily lives.

“Little interior glances” are responses to our heart’s desire, feeding and encouraging the soul, pointing us toward home.

The length or form of these times is not as important as how often you can find them. How often you find them is not as important as finding them at least now and then. And even finding them now and then is not as important as wanting them. Pray for them. And, as best you can, remember how much you want them.[1]