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Before I write a column such as this, I pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit to help me offer something useful to whoever might take the time (or make the sacrifice!) to wade through it.

My first concern is not whatever happens to be on my mind, so much as what we all may be dealing with at this particular time and whatever light our faith may bring to the moment. It could be specific issues like managing finances, caring for our family's health, the border crisis, addictions or violence around the world - or, simply, not finding the time to pray.

I have never felt more certain of God's presence to us in our lives than now. It seems to me that wherever we go, near or far, every moment is a moment of grace that God is using, transforming and redeeming so as to bring us to deeper awareness of His love.

Yet I have the impression - I may be wrong - that many persons, whether younger or older, feel over-burdened, frustrated, confused and maybe even irritated that God is not revealing Himself enough in the world in general and in our personal lives in particular.

Why does God let this or that happen, these or those people get away with that? Is God asleep? That is what prompts me to ask myself how I can convey my conviction that this just ain't so.

Then it comes to me what might be part of the difficulty: All too often, having faith might seem like something that we do, someplace we go. The assumption is that God is really closer to people who pray more, serve more, go to church and/or read the Bible more, so let's do more things!

There is no question that doing any or all of these things is more likely to put one in contact with God than just going through the daily chores and routines of life mindlessly, but there is a reason for that. The reason is this: prayer, Scripture reading, church-going and doing good works consciously gives us the focus that comes from being in touch with the very ground Reality itself: God's loving presence.

Not that they always do this - if their minds are somewhere else - but, by their very nature, they are directed toward listening to God, who is always there. Not all of our other activity is. Sometimes, we ourselves are not all "there" in what we are doing or whom we are with! But it need not be that way.

There is no reason why sharing a meal with friends, having a conversation with a neighbor, riding on a bus, waiting on a toll or a shopping line or, for that matter, putting out the garbage or loading the dishwasher cannot be a moment of grace. What we need to remember is that God is with us in everything that we do.

So many times in my life I have given so little thought to this: that God is always in us and around us! Yet Jesus always knocks at the door of our minds and hearts. The feelings that well up inside of us when we see or read something disturbing, even the things or persons that frustrate us and may make us angry, are not just signs that something is wrong, but invitations from God to want something more and to turn to Him for help.

If we find ourselves unsatisfied, critical, even judgmental, this may well be because God is inviting us not to rely on certain things or people to fulfill the longings of our souls, which are made - "hard-wired," so to speak - for being filled by God. It is a message that they are not God and cannot save us.

Enough is never enough, because we are made for eternity, not for those ephemeral, passing consolations that will never completely satisfy us. Bringing more "God awareness" into our lives will change the way we look at our routines, even (especially) those that are routine and, at times, quite frankly, boring.

To sum it up, our faith invites us to be reflective about our lives - to look at what we are doing and thinking while we are actually doing it and not just submit passively as slaves to routine - or anyone's expectations from us, including our own.

Jesus promised that those who live in Him and for Him would really be free. If it seems at times that even church is "boring," it may be because daily life itself has become that way - that we have forgotten or neglected to allow God's presence to enter them.

Though life may become so without God, God is never boring![[In-content Ad]]

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