For this post about fostering awareness of God’s presence in our lives, I wanted to share something from a woman I have known my entire life, Mrs. Roz. I am sharing this for two reasons.
First, I am asking that you keep Mrs. Roz and especially her daughter, Ragan, in your prayers. Ragan lost her husband of only a year, Ben, five months ago very unexpectedly. Chris and I both knew Ben since high school, and we believe he was one of the most vibrant, genuine, and compassionate men we knew. Please keep Ragan, her family, and Ben’s family in your prayers!
Secondly, I want to share how Mrs. Roz and Ragan have been fostering an awareness of God’s presence during this challenging time for them.
“We started a “Blessings Book” after Ben’s death to help us focus on the positive blessings that would come to us. It is just a notebook where we write down blessings each day. They can be simple like the sunshine or more complex like the answer to a prayer for guidance on what to do with the car. or the name of someone who did a kind thing for us, sent a card, called or came for a visit. Some days there are many we can write down and some days we have to look a little harder but… there are ALWAYS blessings. This has helped our awareness of God and how amazing HE is to us. When we are having a hard day it is great to be able to pick up that book and look back at all the blessings and see God working in our lives, how HE has gotten us through the past 5 months. He is always there– just waiting for us to confide in Him, lean on Him, trust in Him and be blessed by Him.”
Mrs. Roz also shared:
“The older I get the more I am aware of God in every aspect of my life and the world around me. Why did this happen? It is because I have slowed down in the number of things I am doing on a daily basis and spending more time in prayer and reflection. For me, I try to focus on all the amazing things in the world that God has created. I thank Him for the sky, the birds, the grass, the rain, the wind, the leaves as change color, my family, extended family, friends, health and on and on and on. I take more time out to appreciate all the blessings that are in my life. I try to talk to God all during the day and not wait for prayer time before bed when I am tired. I do start and end my day with prayer but try to be in a prayerful conversation with God all the time. I have let HIM into every minute of my day.”What do we need to do to foster a sense of awareness of God’s presence in our lives?
Do we need to start our own blessing or awareness book to be reminded that God is at work in our life?
Becky Eldredge
Becky is an Ignatian-trained spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and writer. She is the author of the Busy Lives and Restless Souls (March 2017, Loyola Press) and The Inner Chapel (April 2020, Loyola Press). She helps others create space to connect faith and everyday life through facilitating retreats and days of reflection, through writing, and through spiritual direction. With nearly twenty years of ministry experience within the Catholic Church, Becky seeks to help others discover God at work in the every day moments of people’s lives by utilizing St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises and the many gifts that our Catholic faith and Ignatian Spirituality provide.
0 Comments