Me & God and Prayer

Lots of snow on the ground this morning - if my camera was working, I'd share a picture. It looks pretty from my balcony window, but I imagine it may not look so wonderful to those poor souls who have to commute to work this morning... There's no sunshine today, but I'm not feeling depressed about it (yet).

I've been praying more lately, and I know why. There's an issue I'd like to get resolved, and dealing with it is time-consuming and stressful; nevertheless, I have to deal with it. In order to maintain some kind of inner clarity while going through this, I'm seeking the calming and reassuring effect that I only get when I turn to God. I believe God may be permitting my current trial (which I know is small compared to the trials of so many others) so that I will turn to Him more.

My Grandma and I have been saying a novena to St. Joseph, which also helps. For most of my life, I've been lax about keeping up a regular, structured prayer time. I do turn to God several times a day and try to stay close to Him in my heart. Lately, I've been starting my day by committing to Him my words, actions, thoughts & feelings, and at night I turn to Him for protection and peace, and I try to remember to bring to Him the intentions of those who've asked me to pray for them.

I find it helps when I tell my close friends about a particular trial I may be going through and ask for their prayers. Then I feel like I'm not in it alone, and it's consoling to think of all the additional graces that are flowing my way thanks to the extra prayers they're saying for me.

Like everything else in my life, my prayer life is a work in progress.