Published on CatholicMom.com

When the weather is nice, I like to spend my prayer time on my back deck. It’s my happy place: private and quiet, with a beautiful view of the trees and sky. It feels like a front row seat to God’s creation as birds dart about and bees visit the flowers I’ve planted in various pots strewn about. Witnessing it all draws me closer to the Creator.

Today, as I sat gazing out over the trees, I saw a bird land on a branch. I guess the bird was heavier than we both realized because the branch dipped dramatically under his weight. Had he not been hanging on, claws clutched tight around that branch, he would have slid right off into thin air.

It felt like a lesson on the importance of holding on.

The glory of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east. Ezekiel 43:4

As I read Ezekiel 43 the other day, I longed for the “glory of the Lord” to enter the gate of my heart. I started to wonder about the significance of the east gate. Before I could research that, I heard God ask me: “What’s blocking the east gate of your heart?”

Of course, studying the Bible and the theology of it is important. But in our relationship with God, I think how His Word impacts us personally is far more important. So I began to ponder that question.

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! … Do not take a purse or bag or sandals…” Luke 10: 2-4

We moved my oldest son, Zack, into college last Friday. I’ve known for a long time that I’m no longer the one who influences his choices, or remains the primary person shaping who he’ll become. That’s why my nightly prayer for him has been, “Please bring him good, true and faith-filled friends.”

I met his roommate for all of five minutes while helping Zack unpack. He seems like a nice kid. But it’s too soon to say whether he and Zack will bond, or whether he’ll be a good influence or not.