Monday, November 11, 2013

When You Make It...

A while back I was traveling a lot (for that matter, I still am) and my early morning and late evening times for contemplation became usurped by one urgent matter after another, mostly associated with work although some were home matters. My prayer time kept getting shorter and shorter, and my walking-around-the-mission time fully disappeared under the mounds of tasks I found heaped on me.

I truly missed my morning and evening contemplation, and taking a few minutes for prayer when I arrived at work was just no substitute. In fact, after about 30 seconds, invariably someone would knock on my closed door urgently with a non-urgent matter. Sigh!

"When will I have time to be with You?" I wailed to God at one point.

"When you make it," came the soft but distinct response. It was a short, simple answer that contained an immense truth and prompted an abrupt stop to my downhill slide away from the summit of daily quality time with God.

Of course! As a parent, I should have realized it without being told. After all, if we do not make spending time with our children a priority, the quality of the time that we do spend with them suffers, as does, ultimately, our relationship with me.

Interestingly, when I started again making time, deliberately, to spend in prayer, I re-learned what I knew previously: God gives us that time back. I don't understand how it happens, but I do know that I don't "lose" any time needed for other matters, home or work, when I deliberately set aside time for God. I do gain, however: contentment, happiness, calmness, better critical thinking, clearer problem solving. I wonder why I ever thought I could not afford to spend a considerable amount of time with God every day. The reality is that cannot afford not to spend a considerable amount of time with God every day.

Happy prayers to you!

2 comments:

  1. Elizabeth...I have to admit that at times I have wondered as the congregation would sing "Sweet hour of prayer" just how many singing the words had actually ever spent an hour talking to this great and wonderful God of ours.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Maybe more than seems apparent. (I'm an optimist.)

    ReplyDelete