Finding God in the everyday

Mike Hickey started writing books about spirituality over 20 years ago and he hasn’t stopped since, with his eighth book titled “Real Presence” coming out earlier this year.

“Real Presence” explores God’s presence in the world both in and outside of church walls.

“What I tried to do with the book was to take God out of that box that confines God to the walls of the church and out into the world to just talk about different ways that God is present in the world,” he said, noting that “God is in every part of our lives.”

Each chapter of the book is devoted to how God can be present in the world in different ways, ranging from children and families to neighbors, the poor–even in  prisoners.

“All of the book is dedicated to different chapters like that,” Mike said 

With Mike’s extended family featured on the book’s front cover, the book’s primary focus is on how God is present in the family. While “Real Presence” may be dedicated to family, it is also for the community, which Mike called “the broader family.”

“It broadens God’s presence in the world,  because God is present everywhere,” he said.

According to Mike, God’s presence is in “all of creation.”

“You can look at a tree and find God. You can look at a rock even and find God. So it’s not just in the family, it’s not just in people,” he said, adding that it’s in the nature surrounding us as well.

He explained that“Real Presence” isn’t just about people going to Mass and taking the Eucharist but God’s presence is “everywhere in the world.”

Mike has received feedback from people such as a friend who was also he and his wife’s first Bible study teacher.

Mike’s wife Terri, who is also a writer, explained that the friend said the book helped her focus and recenter herself in the hectic day-to-day.

“She was kind of grateful and expressed her thanks for the time and commitment it took to write the research,” Terri said.

Mike pointed out that there’s a lot of nonsense in the world that can be hard to not focus on. By writing books on spirituality, both Mike and Terri are trying to “take people out of that nonsense and to focus on what’s really important.”

For Mike and Terri, God’s presence in each day  is “far more important than any of the nonsense we see going on politically.”

Since retiring, the couple has spent their time writing, even though they know the books they write won’t sell “millions of copies.”

“If you want to [sell millions of copies], you can write about power or money or something that people are far more interested in today than writing about spirituality,” Mike said.

Mike noted, “Our interest is far more inspirational and spiritual than it is in the material world.”

Terri called writing books on spirituality “good motivation.”

“We’re all kind of learning and even as old as we are, we always say, ‘I never knew that,’” she said. “It’s evolving for us and for all people.”

Mike said that he’s had people ask him why he and Terri write books on spirituality, to which he responds: “We do it because we believe we’re called to do it, and to do more than just satisfy ourselves.”

He added, “We want people to have a broader sense of who they are as people of God.”

Mike explained that at the heart of the books they’ve written is the desire to put people before things, which he said isn’t currently happening in the world.

He said, “That’s really at the heart of what we’re trying to do with what we’re writing — to get people to recognize that it’s far more important to put people before things.”