Growing? Growing!

At the Oblate Institute, which was Monday through Wednesday, I met a woman who is a pediatrician and has her last child at home, who is my daughter MJ's age--who will be a senior and gone to college in a year. This person rents a hermitage at Lebh Shomea, something I never imagined a lay person doing! She plans to live there for long periods after her daughter graduates from high school. But what drew me most was her description of her prayer life in the past year. She gets up at 3 am to pray and prays and prays. This I learned--when I asked if she could maintain the 4-5 hours of daily prayer they urge of residents at Lebh Shomea--and she said she could and wants to sit with God more and more.

How I want that. I yearn for God, but can't sit more than 30-60 minutes, depending upon the day and time. I yearn to be in prayer like that. When I'm not praying, I'm yearning for that. (Now I would tell someone I was spiritually directing, that that is also prayer--but do I think that for myself??) In my little way, maybe I'm moving there.

She struck me so much that I approached Fr. Kelly when he was getting a dish of melon at the salad bar at lunch. I told him about meeting this woman, whom he directs, and how I wanted to be like her in prayer. I told him I wanted God to grow me into prayer like this and how will it happen!! Fr. Kelly smiled at me, and said reassuringly, "You are growing now; you are growing."

Thank you. Live in the moment. Don't anticipate. Don't get spiritually greedy. Trust God. All will be well.