The Simple Life at Home

Question: What are the current barriers to spiritual health in your life? In other words, what keeps you from connecting to God as your primary source of spiritual life?

Gosh, this is a hard one to answer. I guess I have periods where I am feeling like a spiritual giant and very, very close to God and then I have periods where I feel so very far away from Him. Of course, I know that He is still there, right there with me, but I have tuned Him out. I think the biggest barrier to my spiritual health is related to yesterday's question. I just keep my mind too busy, too amused, to spend time with Him.

I'm the kind of person who hates quiet. I turn on the radio as soon as I get in the car. I turn on the tv, even if I have no intention of watching it, just for the noise. And yet I know that we are called to be still. How else can I know my God if I don't spend time with Him? How can I have a conversation with Him if there is always something else taking up my attention? I keep my mind so busy with noise that there is no opportunity for His still, small voice to get my attention.

I'm working on it. I really want to live my life intentionally - working towards prioritizing those things which are really important to me (my walk with God, my family, my health), instead of allowing those things which are merely easy to be my focus. I think that by consistently reminding myself of what is really important, I can manage to tune out that which is merely there and available. Sometimes it's hard to dig through all the nonsense our world fills us up with, but it's necessary to get down to the treasures which lie hidden.