Moving Things Around

Karen Estep shares how moving a piece of décor changed other areas of her life.

I have a sign that I picked up at a craft store a few months ago. The wooden blocks that make up the sign read, “Wait, Pray, Trust.” I bought it because I felt like I had been called by the Holy Spirit to start my podcast, Stand, Kneel, Now What? but things were not growing or coming along as quickly as I had hoped. Knowing that I had been called and giving my trust up to the Lord are two totally different things. So, I bought a seemingly silly sign to be a daily reminder that I truly need to wait, pray, and trust.

When I brought the sign home I test-drove it in a couple of different places. I finally landed on placing the sign on the entertainment center. It was definitely not a focal piece, but if I happened to glance that way, it would be a good reminder.

Then the day after Thanksgiving came ... and that means decorating for Christmas in my house. My husband is a staunch believer that Thanksgiving gets its own day and its own décor, and that Advent or Christmas can just wait their turns! So, out came our Christmas decor and my everyday décor had to either be placed in a new spot or get packed up in a box for the basement.

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While my “Wait, Pray, Trust” sign is nothing super special, I still did not want to pack it away for the season. I ended up placing it in a windowsill that I walk past multiple times a day. After a few days I realized that this is where it should have always been in the first place. Those three little words have started to become more ingrained in my mind because I pass them much more often where they are placed now.

This made me wonder: what are some other parts of my life that I have moved around for the Advent and Christmas seasons that I can keep permanently?

This Advent I attempted to slow down a bit and be more present with my children. We lit the Advent candles every night and prayed, we read the stories from the Bible while we completed our Jesse Tree, and we focused on being lights for the world around us. How can I keep that going throughout my life all year and not just the Advent or Christmas seasons?

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Here are some things that I plan on doing this year to slow down, to pray, to wait, and to trust:

More Lectio Divina

This is a practice that I absolutely love and that due to the busyness of life, I don’t practice it enough. I want to move some things around in order to make this more of a priority. This is one of the best ways for me to pray and have a conversation with the Lord.

Go to Adoration more frequently

I hate silence, but this last Advent season I fasted from music while I was driving alone in my car. It was an extremely hard practice BUT I was finding myself relying on worship music to “find God.” This practice of driving in silence for 10 to 15 minutes at a time has helped calm my fear of silence. Now that I know I can be silent, I need to go to God, adore Him, and sit in the silence of His presence. This may also mean that I move my schedule around in order to attend Adoration at my parish. We have two days a week that we can attend formal Adoration, and I would love to make it a part of my weekly routine. In Adoration, I can wait on the Lord.

Go to Confession more often

Like so many of us, I can sometimes slink away from wanting to do Confession. I do not want to share my shame and disappoint my priest. However, Confession is a way of opening ourselves up to God’s grace and trusting in His perfect absolution. God already knows what we did; we need to go to Him and ask for forgiveness, trusting in His love for us. This will also be something that I will need to be mindful of when creating my schedule. Confession times can vary from parish to parish and may mean that I open up my schedule to allow more times for my family and me to go to Confession on a more regular basis. I need to let go and trust in God’s grace in even my most shameful areas of my life.

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Knowing that I had been called and giving my trust up to the Lord are two totally different things. #CatholicMom

It’s amazing how a cheap sign, 3 words, and a little redecoration can change your perspective of life. What are some things you can move around to pray, wait, and trust on the Lord more fully during this year?

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