“Thank god for the gift of desperation, and the willingness to open up to my struggles and problems living life.”

“The spiritual journey is a constant interplay between moments of awe followed by a general process of surrender to that moment. The ego resists the awe while the will resists the surrender. But both together are vital and necessary. Awe is not always inspired by beauty and goodness. Truth sometimes comes in hard packages. It takes both great love and great suffering to stun us and bring us to our knees. God is there in all of it, using every circumstance of our life, to draw us ever more deeply into the heart of God.”

Adapted from Joy and Resilience

Meditation for the Day “Seek God early in the day, before He gets crowded out by life's problems, difficulties, or pleasures. In that early quiet time gain a calm, strong confidence in the goodness and purpose in the universe. Do not seek God only when the world's struggles prove too much and too many for you to bear or face alone. Seek God early, when you can have a consciousness of God's spirit in the world. People often only seek God when their difficulties are too great to be surmounted in any other way, forgetting that if they sought God's companionship before they need it, many of their difficulties would never arise. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may not let God be crowded out by the hurly burly of life. I pray that I may seek God early and often.”

Adapted from Twenty-Four Hours a Day© 1975 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.