I signed up as an Adorer for Perpetual Adoration. For those of you that I just lost, the host, the body of Christ, is on the altar in the chapel. People sign up for an hour to ensure He is never left alone. I have to say, this is easily one of the best hours of my week. Once there, I am not required to do anything for an hour except be there. I pray, sometimes say a Rosary but most often I just sit. I sit and listen. It is perfectly quiet in there, of course, but I have learned more about myself, my faith and my place in the world by simply sitting still and listening. Sometimes I jot down a few notes/thoughts that come to me that I didn't expect. (A friend of mine once told me that her friend started taking a notebook with her to Adoration, started writing a book while there and is now a successful, published Christian author!)
I'm usually running to get in there! I have it on my calendar each week, else I would never get there but I still try to fit one more thing/task/chore into my day, right before I go. Whether you believe it is God, the universe or your subconscious that guides you, it is so hard for most of us to find the time to just sit quietly and listen. Put it on your calendar!
Of all of the books I've read to my children over the years, one of my favorites is It's Hard to be Five, by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell. Of course, my youngest doesn't want to hear it, anymore as he is SIX. The struggles are real for any age!
I stepped out of my comfort zone a week ago and attended a weekend retreat at church. I wasn't going to go; I have been avoiding it for years. In my quiet hours at Adoration, I kept hearing a voice telling me that I should go this year but I attributed it to my "guilt voice" as I knew I probably should go but really was not interested. Finally, just days before, after enough separate people had asked/encouraged/suggested that I go, I relented. It was lovely, of course, to meet new people and learn more about my faith but what I did not expect was to have quiet time, alone. This was exactly what I needed and never experience on a normal weekend!
I try to go to Mass on the days the kids have "All School Mass." It is nice for the kids to see that I go, too and my youngest still enjoys having me there. ;) But I'm rushing in the mornings, to get them all off to school, give the husband a kiss on the cheek and still make sure I have matching shoes on in time to get there. Today I was a few minutes late. Since then however, my day has gone so smoothly.
So many friends of mine who are also mothers say that they purposely get up very early to make sure they have quiet time for reflection before getting everyone else up and on their way. I haven't been able to do that, yet. I am not a morning person. I stay up far too late and know that I can send up a few prayers when I finally lay down to sleep. But the voices and the thoughts and the schedules all assault my brain at once and then it's tough even to fall asleep. But making time during the day--even if it is running into Mass in the morning, going to Adoration after lunch or just sitting somewhere in my parked car for a few minutes with the radio off--has made all the difference. Now, once I get to bed, I fall asleep immediately. I know if I would go to bed a little earlier and get up a little earlier, our mornings could start off much more smoothly. I am working on that.
Take some time to sit still, today. Enjoy!
