2 Sm 12:1-7a, 10-17 Ps 51:12-13, 14-15, 16-17 Mk 4:35-41

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer The Daily Reflections

I will keep this reflection short, seeing as I’m writing in the midst of finals week. The reading that stood out most to me was the Gospel reading from Mark. Especially in times of stress, like now for instance, I often find myself getting away from God and distracted in the humdrum of the day-to-day, just like the disciples find themselves losing faith in the face of adversity. Then, when I look back on my day, I have trouble seeing his presence in my life. However, those times I start falling away from God are the times I find myself needing consolation the most.

I see this passage as a call to cultivate a calm amidst the storm. With cell phones, television, email, facebook, traffic, and other distractions, it is easy to get swept away in the tempest of sensory information. It’s difficult enough to hear our own thoughts sometimes, much less discern the presence of God in our lives over this din. One of the things that helps me is taking a little time to myself (oftentimes no more than 10 minutes) during the day or at night before I go to sleep to walk through my day and try to recognize the times I felt most alive or the times I felt closest to God (spoiler alert: they are almost always the same things).

Although it is difficult to section off even this small part of my life, it helps me continue. I can, if even for a brief moment, quiet the bewildering storm around me and recognize Christ in my life. Usually, he’s right in front of me.