Neglecting Your Faith Life? - I Was

This fall while I was in Quebec, I visited the Shrine to Saint Anne de Beaupre. What a beautiful, prayerful place. On the hillside next to the massive church building, there were statues of the Stations of the Cross. Unfortunately, they were in a serious state of disrepair. The paint was peeling and the wooden posts were rotting. The statues themselves were covered in cobwebs and mold. It was obvious that it had been some time since the people, who built these statues as a sign of their love and affection, had been around to care for them.

As I walked through the woods, I asked myself, "Doesn't anyone love these statues and Jesus himself enough to take the time to clear off the cobwebs and repair the damage caused by neglect?  At that same moment, another thought hit me like a wave so hard it actually took my breath away.  A voice inside my head said, "Don't you love me enough to spend time in prayer with me every day?" At that moment, I knew that even with all the free time I had since I semi-retired, I was not being faithful in my prayer time. I wasn't spending time to build my faith.

I wasn't being truly grateful for all the many gifts I had been given. Sure, I said thank you to God when I felt that He had helped me in a difficult situation.  It wasn't that I had stopped believing in Him. It was that I was taking my faith for granted.  Like any relationship, in order to truly know someone, you need to spend time with them. At that moment, I resolved to spend more time in prayer.  When I went back into the shrine to pray, I found this little card on a table.  It seemed that Jesus was reminding me that prayer is not something I "do" it is a state of "being" with Him.

So, if you think you might have been neglecting your faith life, I encourage you to find that quiet place and spend some time "being" with God.  With Thanksgiving Day just around the corner, take time to remember all God's blessings and truly thank Him.

As the Oola guys have been trying to teach me, in order to have a truly balanced, wonderful life, you have to make sure the other things in your life don't take away the time you should spend on your faith. 

If you want to know more about the Oola guys and their book on finding balance in your life, stop by their website and blog.

Here is a link to just one of their posts on finding gratitude in both the good times and the bad.

What do you do to maintain your faith life?  How do you make the time for prayer?  Share your thoughts in the comments below.  Thanks for sharing.