Everyday Faith

My words made it into the church newsletter:

Every day that I take a step closer to God my faith grows.

Even the small steps and most of them are very small steps. But they count. I look back and I think of all the blessings I never thanked Him for and how little of my time I gave to Him. And He loved me anyway. And He waited. He waited for me to realize the richness of life when I put Him first.

A few years ago I started to recognize the difference between time spent with and without God. And it began to bother me that the time I spent with Him was so small compared to the rest of my day. I never thought I should just be praying and contemplating all day. But I wondered about the wasted hours. Often they were mindless activities seemingly harmless but for me, they were daily habits. I routinely incorporated time for these into my day like an appointment: watching a morning talk show, listening to the news, stopping for a coffee.

Did I have appointments with God? Did I have habits that included Him in my life? There were a few but they were nothing compared to the others.

So I started praying a little more and making a conscious choice about how I spent my time. At first it seemed less than inspirational, I will admit! But somewhere along the way there was a seed of joy that started to grow and I was actually happy thinking about this “God time”. It was like getting to see a friend.

I remember coming home from work and anticipating my prayer time! I used to come home and immediately put the TV on to watch reruns of shows I had already seen. And I justified it by saying it was my time to relax. Now the time I spent with God was the most relaxing time of my day even though it was still a fraction of my total day.

It really started with just a few extra minutes of prayer. Sometimes I just said the name of Jesus and thank you. I bought inspirational books to read, started a gratitude journal, read the Psalms and the daily mass readings, said The Rosary. Someone told me about Catholic web sites, radio and television, especially EWTN (The Eternal Word Television Network) I attend Eucharistic Adoration to be with Jesus. And most importantly receive The Eucharist at mass.

It all started with just a few minutes of prayer and putting God first. Life is still filled with challenges but I feel a quiet confidence that God is with me as I face them.

It’s everyday faith.