Distractions

"So many people of good will complain about distractions during prayer. Many even give up on prayer because of them. They do not realize that those distractions come from God. They come from the Holy Spirit. They bring us back to everyday reality when we are trying to find holiness outside of daily life." Joseph G. Donders

It's so tempting to just scrap prayer altogether when we're busy (which is always). This quote is a great reminder that it is precisely in our everyday lives -- in the midst of our busyness and especially in times of illness or other trials -- that God wants to meet us. He wants to be part of it all. His grace is there, in the moments of frustration, boredom, relaxation, exhileration.... Our task is to be present to each moment and to God in that moment.

Once upon a time I was going to be a nun. I was going to have a disciplined life of prayer with lots of time in the chapel, daily Mass, and frequent retreats. Now I'm a wife and homeschooling mother. Ironically, I feel closer to God now than I did while I was in the convent. I don't have as much extended silent prayer time as I would like. But I pray a lot. And I notice and cherish God's presence in so many everyday tasks. I love sharing life with my family in our own little "monastery."

God continually points our eyes, mind, heart to where we are meant to be. Instead of stubbornly trying to block out what we assume are distractions, we need to lift up those very people/situations/tasks to God. I know that when I go into prayer with a rigid "agenda" God almost always leads me another direction.

And rather than adding prayer to the daily agenda of tasks, why not weave it into all the tasks of the day?

Just my thoughts on this quiet Wednesday afternoon. :) It's been a week of cancellations for us. Our book club was cancelled due to illnesses. Tonight we were planning on attending a holy hour for families at our parish, but it's been cancelled because of some flooding in our church. So God points our minds and hearts another direction... and we offer it all to Him.