Generally it’s simpler to ask God into the unhealthy moments than the nice ones. I’ve observed I are inclined to my friendship with God extra intently—this friendship I’ll have uncared for for a time—when stuff has fully fallen aside.

Two weeks into January yearly, my household celebrates most of our milestones. My boys’ birthdays are first on back-to-back days, adopted the subsequent day by our marriage ceremony anniversary. It may be fairly the busy rush proper initially of a brand new yr.

It’s additionally the time of yr that I normally get sick. Sometimes I come down with a chilly, a sinus an infection, or the flu. Two years in the past, it was COVID. This yr an outdated childhood favourite determined to pay me a go to, and I acquired knocked down with strep throat after the solar set on the boys’ birthdays and earlier than it rose once more on my husband’s and my twelfth marriage ceremony anniversary.

Spending the subsequent few nights sitting upright in a chair, questioning if that is what it feels wish to swallow razor blades, I had an awesome period of time to replicate. I had a while to decelerate. I sat up within the dimly lit lounge whereas my household rested peacefully and was aware of the presence of my good friend, God, sitting beside me.

Other than the extreme throat ache, it was really good to decelerate and simply be with my good friend, the good friend I had uncared for virtually all of December in addition to the beginning of the brand new yr as a result of different priorities (like giving my youngsters nice birthday recollections) took priority. I used to be actually glad God and I caught up.

It made me marvel, nonetheless, how my good friend feels about the truth that I want actually to be knocked off my ft to spend just a little high quality time catching up. It made me marvel how my good friend feels realizing that I typically find time for our relationship after I’m at my lowest factors and but neglect to take action after I’m within the midst of my most joyful ones.

This yr, Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day coincide: a day about pleasure, love, and celebration alongside a day about sacrifice, remembering our mortality, and recalling our utter dependence on God. At first look, this appears paradoxical. Nevertheless, I feel the mixture of those two days simply is likely to be the proper means for me to begin practising inviting God into all of my experiences. It could simply be the proper means for me to enter Lent, remembering God is the one love that was right here at the start of my life and will probably be right here lengthy after its inevitable finish.

Let’s bear in mind to ask God in for the fun in addition to the sorrows, the excitements in addition to the frustrations, and the wholesome moments in addition to the sick ones. Will you be a part of me this Valentine’s Day and enter Lent making an attempt to just do that as we honor the one who gave us the final word present of affection?

It’d simply be the change our friendship with God wants most.

Picture by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash.