Then it hit me, it wasn't just one decision which led me here. It was one excuse, which made another excuse acceptable, which inevitably led me to fall asleep as I let life take me wherever it wanted not noticing the train switching courses.Quiet time used to be the time I had alone with God to talk to, listen, and contemplate. When that was cut out of my schedule, so was mental clarity. Resulting in frustration and ranting to friends and family, thinking that would solve problems. But they have their own life to consider and only you know exactly what your heart is calling you towards.
Parents had it right when they sent you to the corner for time out to think about what you did. I don't know about you but I spent that time thinking about how mean my parents were, or how I would get my brother back for getting me in trouble, or just simply how pretty my next art project would be. But as time dragged on more slowly than we thought possible, eventually it hit that maybe I shouldn't have tripped my brother on purpose and that I really did owe him an apology.
If only life's problems were that simple now! But whether we like it or not, we needed that time to take a step back and think about why we were where we were. I truly believe that Our Father now tells us we need time out whenever we become anxious or lonely. He's telling us to sit down and think about what we did. That He's always right there and we just need to be quiet and listen. Life's not as hard as we make it out to be when He's the one who we let conduct our train.So I challenge you to start today by spending just 15 minutes alone, no phone, no laptop, no friend. Try this everyday for one week and let me know if you see a difference!
Ultimately I strive to live up to St. Francis de Sales advice: "30 minutes meditation with God is absolutely necessary, unless you are busy, then an hour."
Until next time,
~Mina
