"It's hard to ignore a sneeze" that opens your mind to living your faith life.
Photo by Jan Kop?iva on Unsplash
With the arrival of spring comes the season of cleaning. Now is the time to open the curtains that have kept your homes warm and cozy all winter and let in the beautiful sunshine. Streams of light may reveal dust lurking in dark corners and many months of grime accumulating on window panes. Perhaps clutter has overtaken closets and countertops. As we diligently pull out our dust rags and buckets and move furniture to get at those baseboards, our world temporarily shifts.
Now is also a good time to open the curtains to the windows of your spirit, to remove clutter that may be clogging up your communication with God. What if, buried underneath, covered in dust, there are unopened love letters from God? Invitations to discern religious life, sent to you in triplicate, enumerating your gifts, talents and propensity to flourish when helping others in need? These messages may be covered in dust, spiritual dust. Spiritual dust is tricky and can set off sneezes with surprising momentum. It’s hard to ignore a sneeze, especially one that clears your mind. Provides clarity. Reveals a plan for living the faith life that has been inside you all this time.
When your clutter is cleared, your cleaning is done and your house — the physical and the spiritual — is put back in order, sit down and read God’s letters. Entertain the invitations and discern what they are calling you to — perhaps cleansing the world of the evils of starvation, physical and mental abuse, global warming, gender inequality, racial divides, societal hierarchy, corrupt institutions, education disparity and other suffocating pollutants all around us. Discern the light radiating from you: is it brightest when it shines in collaboration with others with whom you can unite in a commitment to living together and sharing Gospel mission? Is it guiding you to religious life?
How will you begin spring cleaning and ask God to guide you in this new season of your life?
Are you discerning religious life? Walking with someone who is? We invite you to share this link, fspa.org/showemeasign, and join the conversation.
