Some of you have experienced those moments where you were able to have certain experiences that you wish did not have to come to an end. In fact, when you realized that some of them were about to end, you at least wondered how your "real" life was going to proceed that day or that week. Or perhaps at worst you felt depressed and saddened because you realized that life is not always amazing. Sometimes life can be extremely mundane to the point of where you are left wondering, "What do I intend to do with myself now that this is over?".

I want to share a few examples of where I wished what I was experiencing at the time could have lasted longer to the point of not having to reenter the real world for one simple reason: It honestly sucks sometimes reentering the real world. However, before I begin, I want to clarify that this is not intended to be a "Oh poor me" type of message.

I am not asking for pity or sympathy. I just intend to be transparent about the fact that life is just hard sometimes and that I wish those incredibly sacred moments would continue to last for eternity without interruption or without being reminded that I must live in the real world.

Being in summer camp and able to daily interact with beautiful, precious kids from various ages was something that – when it was happening – could go on weeks on end to the point of believing that we weren't just having summer camp. We could all almost live here together and play soccer and basketball all the time! Who cared about the outside world when we were having a good time?

It was during those moments when I felt – for once in awhile – that I was doing something incredibly meaningful with my life. There is a small handful of things that will energize me and make me feel purposeful in life and one of them is children. But, the moment came when after one week of summer camp, it was time to go back to Virginia.

The other day I stepped into a chapel inside a larger church in the town I currently live in and spent some moments in prayer. That night ended up being an important night for me for mainly two reasons.

First, I needed to let go of some bitterness and resentment and declare forgiveness over some people who had hurt me in some way in the past. Second, I needed to finally tell God where my passions lay beyond Liberty. For the record, God already knew my passions because He is omniscient and He endowed me with them.

The main thrust of my time in that chapel was the fact that I was alone with God and I was surrounded by absolutely beautiful stained glass windows that had incredible art. All of that combined makes for a truly sacred moment. It had been many years since I had stepped foot in a chapel to pray to God in a way that had not felt so real in a long time.

God will always extend the grace every day we need for our existence to be sustained but also for our entire lives to be eternally impacted by His presence. But this is a "God with us" journey and is not a "God instead of us" journey. That is to say, God works along with us in our journey instead of working apart from us.

God is truly Someone who enriches my life in a way that nothing can but I must invest time with Him to benefit from that. But, that was at night and it is not something that I can always do without expecting interruption because other people use the chapel and I have other things I must fulfill.

My last example is when I get up in the morning at my apartment. My ideal morning consists of the following things: have my coffee with creamer, play nature sounds or soothing music through the YouTube app on my phone from the TV, read my devotional How Great Is Our God: Classic Writings from History's Greatest Christian Thinkers along with Scripture, journal some thoughts and prayers, and read The Lost Virtue of Happiness: Discovering the Disciplines of the Good Life by J.P. Moreland and Klaus Issler.

One more thing I will add is when I am strolling along the walking trail at my apartment complex or Peaks View Park listening to the birds chirping and seemingly quiet moments of nothing but pure silence in nature.

I wish I could do that all day without having to go to work or to class because sometimes I just do not want to be around people. Yes, I am an introvert of sorts. But I do love people. Just ask my family and closest friends. Nevertheless, I feel sometimes I am up in the clouds in those moments and do not want to descend to earth. But, that is life and life has its sacred and mundane moments.

I want to encourage you to seek out those sacred moments with God through whatever avenues He uses - that He knows will draw out your attention and passions - as often as you can. As members of the Church that organically and symbolically embodies the Truth, Goodness and Beauty of the eternal Godhead – Father, Son and Holy Spirit -, it is absolutely crucial to enter those moments when you feel as if the entire universe has disappeared thereby making you feel alone – though not lonely - with God. We cannot manifest to the world what we have not embraced out of our time with God and other believers. Sola de Gloria!