A Life Centered on Christ

God graced me with the opportunity to witness to young people again this past weekend at a confirmation retreat for a parish in Oshkosh, WI. I’m the type of person who would like to keep her interior world hidden. I can be a quiet person, and my experience of God is so personal for me. But I am reminded again and again in SPIRITUS that we are called to step outside of ourselves because what seems like something only we go through is actually very relatable to others. In each moment of the personal, there is an experience of the universal. Maybe that sounds a little abstract, but as I shared with high school teens about my experience discerning my vocation by traveling down to a convent in Nashville, TN, I could see that the Holy Spirit worked in our hearts to connect us.

I shared with them the nugget of wisdom I realized: our lives are not meant to be compartmentalized. Too often in teens' lives, they have such a steady flow of events and clubs to attend and assignments to complete that they are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. When they do get a down moment, they just flop into bed, falling fast asleep. Not having enough time for prayer is a constant theme on these retreats. But isn’t it a constant theme for many of us? The Sisters in Nashville, TN, gave themselves over to God in a courageous way, and through the witness of their lives, we can see that it is possible to be crazy busy and still find time for prayer and recreation. They are some of the busiest, well-scheduled people I know. They care about their students with hearts almost bursting! The key is that everything they do is centered on Christ. Every moment is a moment for gratitude. Every moment is a moment we can love. When we give thanks and we love, that is when we are most fully alive and living in the present moment.

In our culture, we need to re-center ourselves on what is most important, reconnect the fragmentary parts of our lives into a rich fabric of our being, into the beautiful tapestry God has envisioned for us. God loves us abundantly and is with us all the time! When we live a life in Him, we are happier and more productive. I believe those teens on retreat wanted to be good and wanted to be happy, and I believe most of us do too. Let yourself relax into the presence of God. Take the risk of centering your thoughts on Him and letting Him take the reins throughout your day. Watch yourself come alive in the peace that is Christ’s love. You are loved. I thank those Sisters and the teens for reminding me of the grains of universal wisdom which can be found in the particular moments of my life when I have the courage to share them.