Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Making Time for God

Before I get into my post, let's begin with a video that I think is *hilarious*. I'm sure some people are annoyed by this kid, but he's my favorite homeschooler ever. (Since I know like <10 homeschoolers, that isn't really a big accomplishment, but it does give me hope that my kids could turn out awesome and not fit every single stereotype that exists).




This past week or so, I've been really bothered by our lack of 'time for God'. We have slacked on our nightly stuff, which includes Bible reading, devotions, conversations, prayers, etc. We've done a bit here and there, but not nearly as much as usual, and there have been a few nights where we didn't even muster up a few minutes. It took a bit of thought, but it later hit me that, like the video points out, if your entire life is oriented towards spirituality, you don't have to be quite as concerned with preserving a chunk of time each and every day for God. It's still something I would like to continue, but to me, it's just a bonus. I love his line, "Your real life IS your spiritual life". For the longest time, these were two separate things for me and I'm just now discovering that they can be, and should be, one in the same.

 My 'time for God' should be every minute of the day, whether I'm watching my attitude and trying to be charitable to someone who severely bothers me, or offering up quick prayers throughout the day, or going out of my way to help someone else. This is an evolving thing for me. I used to pray before meals and bed. Now my prayer life has increased to the point where I talk to God throughout the day, many times without even thinking about it. But I do still have a slightly distorted view of time I'm spending with God and need to do two things: 1) find more ways to serve Him throughout the day so if I don't get that time before bed, I don't feel like my spirituality is lacking and 2) recognizing the things I am doing during the day for God that might just seem 'normal' at this point so I don't beat myself up for missing something at night.

I also have learned that doing something like praying the rosary when I'm not in the mood is about the best use of time ever. At first, I would feel guilty for dreading it/not being in the mood. Then I realized that I should focus less on that, and more on pushing through and doing it anyway. I'm guessing God is pleased when we do something for Him when we are in the mood, but thrilled when we do it when our brain is screaming at us that facebook, tv, snack, or a nap would be a more fun use of time.

So though I do eagerly await the times where we aren't working on the house until 11pm so we can get back into our nightly routine of having some time together oriented towards God, I do need to be sure that I recognize that every minute of my day can be oriented to God. How does this play out in your life? Are you at the point where it all just flows? Do you have to work really hard at it? What do you do when you're extremely busy and don't feel like you are giving your faith the attention it deserves?

4 comments:

  1. I am accomplishment oriented, so I used to beat myself up if I didn't get a certain amount of prayer time every day, or pray the rosary every day, personally. But I learned through a formation program I am in called Disciples of Jesus and Mary, that I can make my entire day a prayer. I realized that God preferred I tend to my 5 yr. old's "boo boo" rather than finish my rosary sometimes. Seems like an easy lesson right? I am a slow-learner. So I started asking Mary who "pondered everything in her heart" to remind me to think about God all through the day. Changing a diaper "I do this for love of you, Lord" starting dinner when I would rather sit at my computer "I do this for love of you, Lord." I also started experiencing God through my children. I would learn to hear him through them. "Mom, are you sure that's fair?" "Mom, maybe God wants you to just trust him." and so on. There are lots of ways to "pray without ceasing" as Paul talks about, you just have to figure out what works best for you. Playing Christian music all day, also keeps my mind on Him, but I am a music person. And true love of God, is loving him, praying when you don't feel like it, all the saints advanced to this level of prayer. Sorry to go on and on, just wanted to share my thoughts. :)

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  2. I totally agree with you; it's in the little things we do that we are praising, praying, worshipping. I love the examples you point out and need to work harder to recognize those moments in my own life. That formation program sounds right up my alley!

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  3. I keep meaning to do this. Anyone can be involved in the formation I am in, from anywhere. if you are interested here's the website. http://www.disciplesofjesusandmary.org/ If you want to talk more about it, visit me at truthbeautyandgoodnessintheworks.blogspot.com. I am going to create an e-mail account and connect it to the blog, I just keep forgetting. :)

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    1. Looks interesting! We just got our materials for the consecration to Jesus through Mary (I think St. Louis Montfort?) in the mail and are planning on starting that soon. I've heard a lot of people say it's really hard to get through, so we'll see. Anyway, after we finish that, this might give us something else good to start!

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