Visual Cues
I have been lucky that in my 29 years in Pontiac I have had people around me who live their lives leading with their faith. As I have reflected and prayed about this week's writing, I realized that all of these people have a few things in common. First, they all read the Bible with consistency. A dear friend has always routinely offered prayers on behalf of myself and my family. I have another friend who kept a prayer journal, and she told me how she prayed for my family when we were going through the death of our daughters and we didn't even know each other. Secondly, they openly share their faith with everyone they meet. It is not done in a forceful way but in a way that conveys their confidence in their faith and what they are saying. They aren't afraid of their audience. Thirdly, they all have Bibles, holy images, rosary beads, paintings, scripture verses visible in their homes. And finally I have noticed that they all use their technology to help them in their faith journey, whether that be with apps, scripture verses, podcasts, etc...
If you look at each of these "things" separately they are good and useful no doubt, but when you look at the big picture and the desire to be the best version of themselves, it is so inspiring. In 2018 at the end of our Solum Ora experience, we had a retreat and some friends of Father Adam's, Nathan and RyAnne Carr, came and spoke to us. One of the takeaways for me that day was they said they tried to put a book or object, or a visual in each room in their house to remind them to be faith driven. They said it could be anything to ground them in the Lord wherever they were in their home. I thought this was so brilliant. I also realized that many of my friends already did this as well. So over the last few years, I have tried to make my home have more faith visually and spiritually. I love books (my kids say it is an addiction!!). I have faith based books in literally every room in my house. I see them and they remind me to pray and be grateful. I have made much of my social media religious based. I follow many different people and Catholic groups to help me in this journey. A few years ago, Father Adam shared with the staff at St. Mary's about a daily email from FaithND. It is a Gospel reflection every day. I downloaded the Laudate app on my phone. It is awesome!!! I normally follow it for the readings at mass. This summer I purchased a rosary to be hung on my wall. I want that visual cue every day. I also began wearing some more faith based jewelry. Again just something simple that makes me feel good and sometimes gives me the nudge I need to refocus on HIM and not me. So many of the women in this group know sooooooo much more than I do about God and the Bible, but I feel empowered by their example, and I pray every day that you all feel empowered in your faith as well.