Journey in Faith
Since starting my new job one month ago, I have had to figure out ways to incorporate my faith into my life in ways that were super easy when I taught at St. Mary's School. We prayed every morning as a staff, we prayed as a school, we prayed in our classrooms, we prayed before meals, we prayed before and after athletic practices and games, we had school Mass every week. We prayed. We immersed ourselves in our faith. I am not able to do all of that at my job now, but I am holding on to some of the elements of my daily faith journey, and I even found a new book to help guide me.
When I met with Father Adam about my leaving my teaching position, we discussed how I will have to make a conscious effort to stay engaged with my faith. I can't disconnect just because I am not surrounded by kids and adults who are able to openly practice their faith whenever they want. I really prayed and prayed about what I was going to do. I decided to do some tangible things to help ground me. I wear my Rosary bracelet every day no matter what. It comforts me and brings me peace. I wake up about 15 minutes earlier than I used to in order to have more quiet time with God. I have several objects (prayer card, Scripture stone) on my desk with Bible verses to remind me of my faith. My daughter Trinity lent me one of her Confirmation gifts (a wooden cross with GRACE written across it) for my desk to remind me to show grace, be gracious.
A new part of my journey is sort of piggy-backed onto one I started last year but didn't complete, "The Bible in a Year" podcast. I started it but got behind and had been sporadic in my listening. I realized I needed the stability and the Lord's presence in a very structured way, so I purchased "The Bible in A Year Companion" book 1. I enjoy reading the Bible and listening to Father Mike Schmitz on the podcast, but I don't always comprehend all the details that I wanted, so I bought the companion guide. It is really handy and easy to use. It is color-coded to match "The Great Adventure Bible." It highlights Father Mike's commentary for each day; it also has the text for the prayer that Father Mike offers for that day as well. There is also a section called "Dive Deeper" which varies from day to day but allows the reader/listener to dive into the Scripture more or gives you words to ponder for the day. It has been a huge blessing to me these past few weeks as I journey into these new, unchartered waters. I feel like we are all on this journey together, so I thought this week I would share a few things that are helping me. God bless and continued prayers.