“They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” // Luke 17:27
I’ve got to admit there are often times that I procrastinate in my spiritual life.
I’ll start going to monthly Confession next month.
When I have some extra time in my schedule I’ll start going to Holy Hour.
I’ll do a daily Rosary when my kids don’t wake up so early.
I’ll start reading Scripture every day after my new schedule starts.
These are all the thoughts I tell myself when I feel the gentle nudges of the Holy Spirit calling me to spend more time with God.
The opportunities for procrastinating and making excuses for why I choose not to devote more time to prayer are really limitless. There are so many ways to distract myself, or to keep believing other things are more important and pressing than making the time and concerted effort to actually pray.
Christ’s words in today’s Gospel (see Luke 17:26-37), however, should give me the reminder I need to make better choices. Christ is telling us that His second coming could happen at any moment—there will not be news bulletins telling us to get our lives in order. We will not be given a time or date. Things will look like they’ve always looked, in our own busy lives and in the chaos of the world around us. Of course, the second coming may be the end of time as we know it, but our own death may come at any time as well, with or without warning.
Christ does not give us a timeline of when we need to change our lives and live the commandments He has given us. He is telling us today that every single day should be lived as if the end is near, not because we should be afraid, but so that we can live a full and blessed life. The time to make a change is now.
Is there one small way you feel the Holy Spirit calling you to deeper devotion and prayer? Can you make the choice to put that into action today?
Christy Isinger is a wife and mom to five lovely, loud children and lives in northern Canada. When not homeschooling, she is a devoted reader of English literature from Jane Austen to Agatha Christie and blogs about beauty and life. She is the co-host of the Fountains of Carrots Podcast. She is the author of Blessed Conversations: The Ten Commandments. Find out more about her here.
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