Hurtling toward Christmas

The next two weeks will be quite busy for me. I have...

• A major deadline at work on Christmas Eve
• A party at our home next Saturday
• Several volunteer commitments, including meetings, fundraising recruiting for Honduras, etc.
• At least one or two parties to attend
• Oh, and pretty much all of my Christmas shopping yet to do.

So perhaps I can be forgiven for succumbing to briefly hyperventilating every once in a while.

But when I finally stop for a moment or two and think, really think about how I'm going to do what I need to do, I realize that I can't do it. At least not by myself. I have to stop and unburden myself and let God take over, because otherwise this is not going to end well.

So earlier today I read the readings for Mass, and the second reading reading really spoke to me where I am and have been:

The Lord is near.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Yes, the Lord is near. But I have not been present enough to the Lord, and so my burdens weigh me down. But it is a new week ahead, full of new possibilities, challenges and opportunities -- and a chance to scratch a few things off my list. Yet the thing I need to do most -- and I need to do it every day -- is "by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make (my) requests known to God".

This week I will make a special effort to make time for God, to be quiet for a little while and find me true center, the place where God abides within me and answers the prayers and petitions of my heart.