Walking with God in the Unimpressive Seasons of Life

Suzanne Beck ponders the everyday seasons of life, inspired by the new book by Father Mike Schmitz.

Fr Mike Schmitz’s new book,Walking with God in the Unimpressive Seasons of Life, might well be the smallest, leanest, shortest book you will ever read. In fact, this review might be longer than the actual book (I exaggerate, but not by much!). It also might be one of the most important books you’ll ever read.

Sometimes it seems like our lives exist living one peak moment to the next. But then what happens when there are no peak moments coming up and all we see is a long road ahead of routine, everyday, mediocre moments? Or what if it seems there have NEVER been ANY peaks and your whole life has been one long version of regular, ordinary, unimpressive moments?

Father Mike's Advice: Don't Underestimate God's Plan for You

If you’ve ever felt like this, Father Mike Schmitz gives three main important thoughts to think about. First, don’t underestimate your role in God’s plan. How often do we underestimate how God sees us? What He’s calling us to be? What if we made small changes — teeny, tiny changes — maybe 1% change every day? What would we look like after several weeks? After several months?

Second, Father Mike reminds us not to underestimate time. How long will it take to find and fulfill your role in God’s plan? Well, it might well take your/my entire life. Maybe we pray and ask in faith for something specific, yet nothing happens. However, we don’t know what behind-the-scenes things God has to do to accomplish our request! But His silence doesn’t mean He’s absent: He heard and starts working when we ask. So what do we do while we are waiting? Take the next step and keep moving forward, even when it’s hard and the path seems broken. In the end, God will use it all for His glory and our benefit.

Third, we are encouraged to just show up, even on the unimpressive days. Think back to your last vacation. There were some days that probably rated a 10 (when you made it to the very top of the mountain!); some moments that were a 2 (when the wait for the next table was 2 hours). There was a long, wonderful nap on that hot afternoon, and then a thunderstorm that washed out a whole day’s plans. However, it was the WHOLE vacation, a series of ups and downs, that was the peak: the important thing.

Most of life is made up of uninspiring moments or even whole seasons, but as we show up and LIVE, God is there working in it all. Fr. Mike explains,

If we spend all our time underestimating the unimpressive seasons, we’ll miss out on being the people God need us to be. (p. 50)

So don’t underestimate ANY moment or season. Trust that you are where God wants you to be where you are, unimpressive or not. All of the moments together are preparing you for THE peak moment, that is the one when you will stand before God, and in that moment, the ups, the downs, the in-betweens will all be clear.

A couple of cool bonuses to this book: every other page has a major, thought-provoking quote, and reflection and discussion questions are provided at the end of the book. Both are perfect for deeper thought, meditation, prayer or discussion.

Ask for Walking with God in the Unimpressive Seasons of Life at your local Catholic bookseller, or order online from Amazon.com or the publisher, The Word Among Us Press.

Is this a book you'd like to read? Share your thoughts with the Catholic Mom community! You'll find the comment box below the author's bio and list of recommended articles.

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