This title may be my silliest yet. There’s a story behind it. (There’s always a story.) My parents donated to various Catholic organizations and charities. They would often receive little trinkets and such as thank you gifts. Because my parents were born during the Great Depression they were obligated to never throw anything away. When we began the arduous task of emptying out their home, we realized just how seriously they took that obligation.

Among countless other items, we discovered several small crucifixes, each with its own stand. My father had them placed around the house. Come to think of it, I recall Jesus being represented in basically every room of our home. And don’t get me started on the wall of Popes. But I digress.

It just didn’t feel right to throw the crucifixes away. It seemed almost sacrilegious or something. This is how I ended up with three of them in my car. Every time I open the compartment, I smile thinking of my Dad, and chuckle at what other people might think if they saw them.

But as I often do, one day I started thinking more deeply about it all. Thus the topic of this article was born.

How many of us treat our faith and our relationship with God casually?

We don’t feel right just throwing it away completely, but we’re perfectly content leaving it hidden and out of sight in the glove box, if you will. Occasionally we may open the box and see it there. But we quickly push it out of the way to get to what we really want. It’s all too easy to simply close the top and ignore it for another few days, weeks, months, even years.

Here’s where I would typically come with receipts and quote relevant scripture verses to drive home the point of how valuable, how necessary it is to make our faith and relationship with God the top priority. But I’m switching it up a bit. This time I’ll be quoting from the famous author, theologian and scholar C.S. Lewis instead. Though the Bible is the primary source for wisdom and understanding, there is value in listening to the experienced voices of others who have not only talked the talk, but walked the walk. (All quotes, unless otherwise indicated, were taken from http://outlookgood.com/c-s-lewis-quotes/ .)

A woman’s heart should be so close to God that a man should have to chase Him to find her.

This one hits home. There is so much in so few words. I’ll leave it to you to discover what it means for you personally. For me, it is simply the only recipe for a truly successful romantic relationship.

You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.

Did anyone else feel like cold water was just splashed on their face? Maybe it’s just me. Our body is temporary; our soul is eternal. Doesn’t it make sense that we should invest time cultivating a close relationship with God who can do far more than sustain our fallible, natural bodies? Time with the Lord can and does heal the soul, your eternal you. Who wouldn’t want that?

Look for Christ and you will find Him. And with Him, everything else.

How do we lose sight of this so easily? In Christ is the fullness of life. Period. I love how Lewis states the truth that if you look for Jesus, you will find Him. He’s waiting for you to open up a dialog.

Check out this quote from Lewis’s Mere Christianity. It’s so powerful:

God has infinite attention to spare for each one of us. You are as much alone with Him as if you were the only being He had ever created.

Read that quote again. Go on, I’ll wait. God is infinite. His attention is infinite. There is no limit to His focus on you. And we can’t spare a consistent period of time in each day to make room for Him? What is wrong with us?

This quote, also from Mere Christianity, is quite sobering:

You may forget that you are at every moment totally dependent on God.

You may disagree with old C.S., but think about it. Are you in control of your next breath? I’m not talking about belly breathing or other breathing techniques. Are you able to determine if you will even have another breath? No, you’re not. Since we are dependent on Him for the very breath in our lungs, our very next heartbeat, shouldn’t we take a moment to at least thank Him for it? Our lives are literally in His hands. Doesn’t that rate some modicum of affection and appreciation?

I’m going to close with this from Lewis, because I couldn’t say it better if I tried.

The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become.

You may ask, “How do we let God take us over?” It begins with spending time with Him. (Noticing the theme here?) It starts by taking our faith and relationship out of the glove box, surrounding ourselves with it, so that Jesus is represented in every room of our hearts. It happens the moment we look up and simply say, “Hey, God. It’s me. I love you. Let’s talk.”

Until next time: stay happy, stay healthy, stay in the know.

Look forward to hearing from you,

-Kat