Finding Time for Him

A few days ago, my mom posted a reflection on her Catholic YouTube channel in Spanish. She spoke about a variety of things, but what impacted me the most was her contemplation on making time for God. 

As humans, we often state how busy we are, while simultaneously feeling like we're barely accomplishing tasks. The pressure to be productive in everything we do feels overwhelming more often than not.

Even if you're mindlessly scrolling any app, for a brief moment you tell yourself, "I learned something" or "It was the break I needed from the stress." It had a purpose, even though it was not a meaningful way to spend our time.

We romanticize and excuse our bad behaviors. We find a way to say it was worth it. When in reality, those minutes were better spent talking with God. We make a conscious choice to say, "It's not enough time to pray" but then are we making the time to pray?

For us to set time aside for Him, it's as if we give Him the leftovers. It's unintentional, but it is evil subtly working its way into our lives by separating us from God.

Only if we have "extra" time or energy do we go to church or spend time reading the bible. And when we get there, there's a sense of anxiety waiting for the sermon to end to beat the "church traffic." We excuse our destructive behaviors over and over again. 

We're in a rush to leave His home. It's like we've been on the couch, talking, and He gets up to grab us some tea, and we're already standing by the door to leave, and He's left holding the teacups, awkwardly smiling as you rush away. Can you imagine how heartbreaking that feels?

How many times have you realized someone was pretending to enjoy a conversation? How disheartening did it feel to realize you were forcing them into a situation they didn't want to participate in? It makes you feel guilty and disillusioned.

Now imagine that, but magnify it by the thousands every week, and that will give you a better sense of how painful it is for God to know how badly we want to leave His home.

Yes, it's good to make the time and attend the sermon in the first place, but if you're not even engaged, what are you even doing there?

As humans, we find ourselves struggling repeatedly, and somehow during those times of hardship, we remember we need His mercy. In those moments, amid the chaos, we find the time to talk to Him, to ask for his help. We read novenas, lessons, and the bible. We pray to be in His good graces. Funny how that always works, right?

During my mom's video, she said, "I want to, but I can't." It's a struggle we all deal with. That sense of being powerless against the devil's influence to avoid God is an internal battle we must face head-on.

Our daily lives themselves are trials of our faith. There will always be a reason why our routine changes. We fight to return to "normal," but instead we must aim to find peace in the changes.

There's a reason for everything. He has a purpose for us. Our goal is simply to stay still long enough to listen wholeheartedly and treat Him with the same care and attention as we would our loved ones on Earth.