Take Time to Step Back from Your Hectic Life

How do you dedicate time, space, and yourself to be present in silence with God without distractions? If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that we are hungry—hungry for an authentic encounter with God, and hoping to have our lives transformed by that encounter. We want to experience God now and through that experience to find meaning, purpose, fulfillment, and joy in our lives.

Advent is a time of new beginning, expectation, and hope for the future. It is a time to step back from the whirlwind of life, to look back on what has happened to us, to take stock of where we are at this moment in our lives, and to make any necessary changes for a better future now and, with God’s grace, throughout eternity.

Advent calls us to a deep, passionate surrender of ourselves to our loving God. Allow us this Advent to reclaim for ourselves a sense of wonder and awe at the mystery of God at the depth of our being. Our prayer is simply one of “being real with God” and letting God “in” to the often messy reality of our lives.

Our hectic lives are like a pool of water when it is agitated and churned up. It makes it impossible to see into it. At best, we can only see our distorted reflection. Only when our mind and heart become calm and clear, is it possible for us to see into the depths of God’s love.

We are called to become quiet within and listen to the deepest desires of our heart, where God speaks to us. We are called to step back from our hectic lives, to find a quiet place where we will dedicate time, make space, and be present to God, allow God to be present to us, and where others will not distract us.

Let us choose to turn off our TVs, iPads, computers, and our mobile phones in order to create an atmosphere of solitude – where we can be present and alone with our God. It is a time to leave aside our public roles or whatever “masks” we wear in our social life. Today we face the Lord naked and vulnerable. We let God see our heart because we come to realize that God loves us as we are. “God is closer to us than we are to ourselves.”

It is a time to allow our true desires, our fears, our concerns and our hopes to surface, and to listen to the “inner voice” of God loving and communing with us. Make no effort to achieve, to get things done, or to gather, possess or control.

Today is not for doing, but for being. Allow God to caress you and allow each breath you take to say “Yes” to God.

Advent is a time to prepare for Christ’s coming into the world – into our lives – and God’s desire to be close to us through each of us.. As Jesus promised us, “I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt 28:20).