During this Lent season, people are thinking of all kind of things to give up. Whether it is no ice cream, less phone usage or less red meat, people will come up with all kinds of things to give up.

I personally always give up ice cream but then find myself eventually giving in to my temptation. I feel like a bad Catholic but then I remember I am not perfect and God will forgive me.

One Sunday at Church, I was ready to listen to the sermon. I was ready to buckle down and try and pay attention as some can be hard to follow. This one was different. Going through an unknown time in my life with lots of transition and uncertainty, I was consumed by my thoughts of how I would make it through.

When the priest started talking about Lent, he said it was important to focus on listening to God in this season. He started talking about meditation and I was like, hmm I do not really meditate. I kept listening. He went on to explain people do not take enough time to listen to God. We distract our lives away from God with noise. Plugging in our music to distract us from the world, being sucked into our online world, and putting energy into things that make us unhappy.

I was looking for an answer on how to handle my crazy life with emotions alternating day to day. I found that if I listened to God, I could put my faith and trust in Him. I was going to listen to Him. Take a break from the noise a couple minutes per day and just breath, pray and give Him my fears. Everything I thought about. The good, the bad and more of the bad, I knew I could rely on Him to listen to me and not judge. He knows the final call at the end of the day so I might as well listen to what He has to say. Doing that gives me peace. In a world that seems so cold and judgmental where people are looking out for themselves, I knew that God eternally loves me and would be there for me when others could not.

Ever since I heard that sermon about listening to God and taking time to spend prayer with Him. I knew I had to do it. I knew it would bring me peace and that everything would be okay. He has a plan for each and everyone one of us. I am trusting the plan and gives me peace. Sometimes I find myself in doubt and start to feel anxious that things will not work out, but then I know that He is holding me in his arms with love and is guiding me along my path till I meet with Him. Until I meet with him in Heaven, I will focus on taking time to build my relationship with Him and be still. Especially in this Lent season.