Elizabeth, my oldest, is coming home for a 10-day visit. Her junior year of college is over, and this summer she’ll be working for a professor at MIT. It’s her first job away from home.
By now we’re more or less accustomed to loving Elizabeth over distance. One thing I’ve learned from separation is that love really is all about communication. When my daughter doesn’t call and I no longer get those snuggle-up late-night chats, my heart aches. I yearn to be part of her life in a bigger way. I don’t want to push her, or to force my way in. Instead, I send periodic email updates about the family, text her when there’s breaking news and try very hard not to expect a response that’s proportionate to my desire to hear from her.
It occurs to me that there are certain parallels here to the spiritual life that I sometimes ignore, probably because I’m the one who doesn’t communicate as much as I should.
I have a tendency to think of “drawing closer to God” as a big project that involves lots of effort. In reality, it’s easy to do if I focus on making little changes. One more conversation a week would make a difference in our relationship. Spending a minute more with him each time I pray would matter. Saying thanks a couple more times a day would change things for the better.
Even if I choose only one of these ideas to focus on, my communication with God will be better than it was. And that opens the door to learning to love him even more.
