Open My Eyes

“For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.” // Luke 17:21

I took the key out of my purse and opened the door to my home. With a defeated sigh, I closed the door behind me. It was another date and another dead end. 

When I was single and felt the clock ticking, I wanted nothing more than to get married and start my vocation as a Catholic wife. It was a holy desire, but I was getting frustrated and tired of waiting. It was difficult for me to accept that at that moment, my vocation was to unite myself to God and serve the Kingdom in my singleness instead of obsessing about when I’d get married. 

Thankfully, I survived that time and found a deeper love of God and my husband. I was overjoyed, but soon I couldn’t wait until my vocation as a mother would start. However, dealing with problems conceiving, secondary infertility, and miscarriages reminded me again to stop obsessing about when will this happen and instead embrace where God had me at that moment. It wasn’t easy, but four children later, God used that time to strengthen me and grow His Kingdom in ways that I have yet to realize. 

In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees were looking for the Kingdom of God, but viewed it in a worldly sense, expecting a mighty king with political authority who would vanquish their enemies. They didn’t understand the spiritual and supernatural nature of it when Jesus said, “For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you” (Luke 17:21).

Sometimes we get preoccupied about the future and what is to come, even in a seemingly good sense of wanting to build the Kingdom. Or we have a vision of how things should be, like the Pharisees, and miss what is right before us. Most often, God moves in the ordinary moments of our lives. Is there an area of your life where you are missing God’s presence?

Lord Jesus, open my eyes to see Your presence in my day. Increase my humility and charity so I can build Your Kingdom in all the circumstances of my life. I love You. Amen.