By Anni Harry
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
The days of my life are frantic, harried, and blurring together. Like the cousin in “Mary Poppins Returns,” many days I get a feeling that my world has turned topsy-turvy. There is little down time, and in the very few minutes of quiet and solitude, I find myself struggling to keep my weary eyes awake. And, as I survey social media feeds in the random moments spent online, waiting in check-out lines, in a parking spot, or on hold over the phone, I dare assert I am not alone.
When we look at what we have scheduled on our calendars, we have been fed a lie. The lie tells us that we must be on the move, busy, and active every moment of the day. We must have places to go, money to spend, ways to earn that money, and tasks that must be accomplished. The lie continues that if we aren’t busy, then we are lazy. If we aren’t actively doing, then we are actively wilting. When the Gospel readings turned toward Mary and Martha not too long ago, the various and numerous reactions across social media bore this out – many women connected with Martha, and felt the gentle rebuke of Christ as He admonished her for having many worries and anxieties.
The lie of the times is that we need to be busy.
Yet, when we are busy, we stop being able to hear God. When we stop hearing God, we begin to slip further from Him. We begin to lose our connection with Him. We begin to forget including Him on our daily journey.
As summer heat quickly fades into the crisp days of Fall, there is both a literal and figurative change in the air. This change can be felt by some in the depths of their bones, and by others in the most recessed cavity of their soul.
This change includes a call to action – look at your calendar and carve some time for peace, some time for relaxing, and some time for prayer. Perhaps it will look like adding one daily Mass to your week, or twenty minutes in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Maybe it will be displayed in attending Confession once a month, spending an extra fifteen minutes in prayer after the penance is completed. Or, rather, the change will take place in rising a little earlier – or staying awake just a little later – than the rest of the household, to focus on hearing God.
However the change manifests in your life, I encourage each of us to reflect on the lie we’ve been told. Stare down that lie and stand firm as you rededicate your Fall days to your relationship with Christ.
He is worth it, dear reader… and so are you.
How will you make room in your calendar to banish the lie we have been fed, and to embrace the love of Christ?
About the author:
Anni Harry is a proud Army wife, and mom. She currently works as the Catholic Religious Education Coordinator at her family’s military chapel. She can be found on social media at A Beautiful, Camouflaged Mess of A Life on FB, @beautifulcamouflagedmess on IG, and @BeautifulCamoMe on Twitter. She also writes for her own blog, in addition to other Catholic women outlets.
Thank you for this article! So true and yet so hard to let ourselves just be in the quiet to hear our Lord. I attend Eucharistic Adoration on Monday evenings for an hour and it is one of the best hours of my week to be in Jesus’ real presence.
I absolutely love Eucharistic Adoration! Please pray for me this week at your Holy Hour, and I will include you in prayers toward the end of the week in my chance for mine (only offered once a month at our church).
So true — all of it. I heard recently that God did not fashion our brains and bodies to “multi task.” Now that I am retired, though busy, I am free to order my days. I have never been a fan of social media, but I get enough emails and texts to make me think I’m still working. My favorite time of the day is predawn, with my Bible, tea, and journal. My dogs even know when it’s “Quiet Time.” Thank you, Anni, for reminding us — especially the younger folk — what is really important. We are human beings, not human doings. God bless.
Thank you so much for leaving your comment. I love that phrase, “We are human beings, not human doings.” It is so true, and a great reminder. Thank you for sharing your own favorite time of the day! God bless you, as well!
REEEEAAALLLLLY ENJOYED YOUR COMMENTS THIS MORNING. EVEN THOUGH I’M RETIRED, THE DAYS FLY BY. I’VE BEEN DOING MANY OF YOUR SUGGESTIONS AND DESPITE PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES OF AGING, CARVING OUT THAT EXTRA PRAYER TIME HAS HAS ITS REWARDS… BLESSINGS TO YOU AND THANK YOU AND YOUR FAMILY FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR MILITARY! HUGS AND BLESSINGS.
Thank you so much for stopping and leaving a comment. I pray that, as September rolls to a close, you have found a routine to carving out that extra prayer time (I admit, some days are easier said than done for myself, too)! Praying for you today.
Thank you, Ami. A number of women who participate in WINE know of and have come to Pacem in Terris to purposefully place themselves in sacred silence, to disrupt the lie, to make room for God, found in this place dedicated to the mission of establishing and maintaining an environment where God’s people can be along with God. http://www.paceminterris.org
Thank you, Phyllis, for this great resource – for myself, and for other women who may read these comments. If I ever find myself in an easy drive to Minnesota, with no responsibility of little kids, I would love to check this out! Retreats can be so spiritually rejuvenating.