Quiet moments

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Melanie Sextro

Listening.

There are times in my life when I knew I was meant to be in a certain place at a specific time. However, there have also been times in my life when I wanted to say, “God, it’s me. Could you please toss down a GPS? I’m just not sure where you are leading me.”

Have you ever struggled, worried and felt confused when your life doesn’t seem to be going right? You know, the way you think it should go. Where you are positive you would be much happier and your life would be close to perfect, if just such and such would happen or if a wish or prayer of yours would come true.

So you pray with all your might; you may even beg for your way to happen. I mean we all think at some point that our way is always the best way. Right? If our plan fails to come to fruition, we may feel frustrated, upset and even annoyed with God. Or maybe you do end up getting what you prayed for only to find out that it doesn’t make you happy after all. You may feel incredibly disappointed by the outcome because it didn’t fill the void like you thought it would; you still feel empty.

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I have noticed that life seems more complicated and messy when I have been “too busy” to really listen to what God is trying to tell me. It is in these moments when I try to remember the quote, “Make time for the quiet moments as God whispers and the world is loud.” – Author unknown

The world these days is full of noise, and it can be difficult to make time for the quiet moments we owe God and ourselves. That’s time set aside, on purpose, for each one of us to connect with him and listen; specifically when we need to make hard decisions or discern where we are being led next.

God wants us to listen to him and trust the path in which he is leading us. The more you listen, I have found, the easier it is to hear what he is saying, too. He wants only the best for us and for us to be happy. There have been many times in my life, and maybe yours as well, when I thought something couldn’t possibly make me happy, but in the end turned out to be one of the most amazing blessings to enter my life.

We are all handmade by him; He knows us better than we know ourselves. God knows exactly what we need and when we need it. All we have to do is be patient, quiet our minds and most importantly listen. Listen so we may hear what he is saying. Listen to our hearts — he will lead us to happiness. In essence then, God does give us a GPS; we just have to allow our hearts to stay open so that we may hear him.

It is incredibly important to set aside that extraordinary time to connect with God. In the next few days, even for just five minutes a day, try to be more mindful about taking time out to quiet your mind, open your heart and just listen. He will be there; He always is.

Melanie Sextro is a military wife and mother to two sweet boys. She is a member of St. Patrick Parish in Iowa City.


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1 thought on “Quiet moments

  1. I get distracted easily when I try to just listen to God while sitting in my living room or bedroom. I need to go to a church or chapel so I don’t keep seeing reminders of all the things I need to do — or could be doing — at home!! Like the biblical Martha…

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