"Pray without ceasing."
This week at work has been extremely hectic. With my new responsibilities, I have way more work to do than I used to. I might even have more work to do than I am capable of getting done. A few weeks will tell about that. At times I go into work mode and completely forget about God and anything else. All I focus on is getting the task at hand done. Then, I hop in my car at the end of the day of work, relax for the first time in nine hours, and feel guilty that I forgot to talk to God throughout the day.
I want today to be different. And I think the key to that being different is to focus on the comments in Scripture that sandwich the exhortation to pray without ceasing. "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
A new attitude of joy needs to fill me. I need to thank God for every little blessing I encounter. I need to figure out how the negatives surrounding me can be turned into a blessing.
Turning our suffering into blessings is something that really struck me with the death of Pope John Paul II. He turned his death into a blessing and reproclaimed to the world that suffering is a blessing in disguise. He did it in such a way that even the Chicago Tribune wrote an article about suffering being a blessing.
If the Pope can find reason to rejoice in the pain of lying in a bed and suffering, then I need to train myself to find the joy in rejoicing daily at work. Then, when I overflow with joy, I will be praying without ceasing.
Watch out for the potholes.
