Fighting For Me

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways . . . For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, My thoughts higher than your thoughts." -- Isaiah 55:8-9

The Kingdom of God seems to be a place of irony. It's a land where poverty is wealth, the last are first, our loss is our gain, we lose ourselves to find God and we must die to gain eternal life.

So when God gives us solutions to our problems and cures for our ailments, sometimes we resist, because they don't seem to make sense, at least in our earthly minds.

My continuous problem, but even more so lately, is that I'm so busy that it's hard to find time for God. Especially alone time. I don't choose to be busy, rushed and frazzled. But I have obligations to keep, important ones that involve caring for my family. Yet God is supposed to have first priority in my life. What's a busy person like me supposed to do?

A certain line from Scripture, Exodus 14:14, keeps jumping out at me: 

"The Lord will fight for you; you have only to keep still."

I've been finding that quote everywhere. One morning last week I heard it on Catholic radio. A couple weeks before it was on a free bookmark I grabbed at the doctor's office.

And of course, God's answer to my problem is ironic. What am I to do when I have so much I have to accomplish? Nothing, He says. Be still.

Well, not exactly nothing. When our Lord asks me to "keep still," I interpret that to mean cease all external activity and pray. And you know, when I do stop and make time to pray, especially at Mass or Eucharistic adoration, somehow the rest of my day goes better.  When I set apart time for Him, He fights my battles for me and takes care of all my concerns. I just need to trust.

I've heard that Blessed Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity would set aside extra time for Eucharistic adoration when they knew a busy or difficult day was ahead. In the saint's own words:

 “When the Sisters are exhausted, up to their eyes in work; when all seems to go awry, they spend an hour in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. This practice has never failed to bear fruit: they experience peace and strength.”

Why should I waste time spinning my wheels yet going nowhere? When I'm wise enough to give God His proper place in my busy day, I'm still tired at the end of the day, but I go to sleep relaxed and at peace, knowing that He is in charge.



Inspired by this Year of Faith we will be posting columns like this from Susan Szalewski about exploring and/or deepening our faith. Watch for it on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.