The Quiet Hour

Have you ever had one of those moments of clarity where you are suddenly made aware of how tiny you are? One of those moments that shows you how petty the things around you truly are? A moment that, while reducing you to almost nothing, motivates you instead of depresses you? I had one of those moments tonight. The only way I can really relate it is through a story of scripture:

"Then the Lord said: 'Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord; the Lord will pass by.' There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing the rocks before the Lord--but the Lord was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake--but the Lord was not in the earthquake; after the earthquake, fire--but the Lord was not in the fire; after the fire a light, silent sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave." 1 Kings 19:11-13

I just love this passage from first Kings. We hear of God appearing in a theophany so often in Scripture--the burning bush, the clouds and lightening at Mount Sinai, the earthquake at Pentecost, that I think we begin to expect God to act in big ways, to reveal himself loudly and obviously. But God doesn't always work like that. In fact, it has been my experience that God often works in the small things, in the quiet places.

My strongest experiences with God, those times that I most strongly feel God's presence, are moments of quiet contemplation and of silent prayer. These moments do not happen frequently for me and so I thank the Lord that my faith is not based on feeling but on Truth. I know that God is always with me, it is just an extra blessing when He really lets me know. But I can think back on several moments when I really felt God's presence with me, not just as a joy within me but as a tangible presence, and these moments have always happened softly and quietly.

Tonight I had one of these moments where God just moved swiftly and decisively in my life and called me out of complacency and back into an active faith. God did not tell me that I was not doing enough to seek Him and to live my life for Him, He showed me!

It happened at a totally unexpected moment: there I was grading homework assignments and watching "The OC" with my wife (Jason, I hate you by the way--this show is addicting). I innocently logged onto Facebook  (because I am a part of that generation that must be connected to their social media several times a day) and saw pictures of Clark Thompson from his half Ironman (congratulations Clark, that is incredible!). Clark had dedicated his half Ironman to our friend Tyler who passed away this summer. His shirt said "This one is for you Tyler" and had a picture of Tyler's face and the years of his amazing and far too brief life.

Just seeing Tyler's name made me think of the many absurd things that he and I did together. I remember when we were in Austria, he and I went hiking together one day, just the two of us. Most of the snow had melted away and it was sunny and we decided to enjoy God's beauty. (CAUTION: this story may involve more personal details than you ever wanted to know.) As we were hiking up this mountain the snow kept getting deeper and deeper until we were almost up to our knees in snow. As our feet grew numb we turned back and tried to forge a new, quicker path down the mountain, only to find ourselves tripping and falling and losing our shoes. My favorite part about that trip was definitely stopping so that we could pee each other's names into the snow (why you may ask? well we were in college in the Austrian alps. Do we need a better reason?)

Thinking about my friend Tyler immediately put my life into perspective (It amazed me how, even after his death, Tyler can still affect such change in my life and still be such a positive influence on me). I quickly remembered how lucky I was to simply be alive. I began to realize how often I take my very existence for granted, not to mention all of the many and wonderful blessings that God has given me. Thinking about the simple and joyful way in which Tyler sought the Lord at every turn really made me realize how complacent I have become in my walk with Christ and how much more I can do to really serve, worship, and honor the King of Creation. These last few months have been so tough that I really used them as an excuse to spend hours "relaxing" and "unwinding" instead of looking to Cross and running after it. I spent so much time doing nothing and not enough time simply enjoying the presence of my God in the Holy Eucharist or listening to His voice in daily prayer.

As I started thinking about Tyler I remembered his "mission statement" from his photography website: "If I were to have a mission statement, I assume it would go as follows: To present Christ as irresistible to the yearning heart." This message is so convicting for me, and it should be for anyone who spends time preaching the Good News. It was especially convicting for me because it made me realize how little I have been expecting of my students in my classroom. As I thought about my teaching experience I realized that I had been teaching them religion and not expecting conversion, not expecting them to actually desire to change or desire to know God more. And yet everyday I have the opportunity to teach them about Christ, about the man who gave His life for them, about the God who loves them so much that He was willing to die for them. I have the opportunity every single day of the week to give their hearts what they so desperately desire! Their hearts yearn for Jesus Christ the Savior and Redeemer of the world! Whether they know it or not, their hearts are yearning for their Creator, yearning for that perfect Love, yearning for something which only God can provide.

And this is not just true of my students--this is true of every single person we meet. Young or old, Saint or sinner, our hearts are yearning for the Truth, for Love, for God Himself! How different we would treat those around us if we would just remain actively conscience of this fact! God Himself is madly in love with everyone around us! Why shouldn't we be also??

So in the words of my dear friend Tyler, let us take it upon ourselves to "present Christ as irresistible to the yearning human heart."

God Love You!