Normally, my daughter and I are frantically getting ready for Sunday Mass in the morning. However, this particular morning was different. I eagerly make my way up to her room with a puffy, laced pink Easter dress in my hands. After the normal wake-up routine, I share with her the good news, “Hunny, I have a surprise for you!” Witnessing the look of surprise I was going for, a huge grin from ear to ear appeared on her face. “What is it Mommy?” my daughter said. “Well, today is a very special day, it is Easter Sunday! Jesus came home and God is so happy!” As I grabbed the dress to show her, she exclaimed, “Oh my goodness, Mommy, is God having a ball?” …laughter ensued. “Well, yes, I suppose you could look at it that way!” She said, “Mom, I can’t wait to go to Jesus’ Ball, he deserves a party! We’re friends” It was the first time I heard her say that Jesus and her are friends.
While I know we are not in the season of Easter, I can’t help but come back to that story as I reflect on stewardship of time today. I was curious about her friendship with Jesus and have been asking her questions about her faith, getting a glimpse into a childlike faith life. Can you guess Gracey’s response to the question, “How did you become friends with Jesus?” My little 4-year old’s response was, “Oh, I pray and we talk.” Think about that phrase a bit, “I pray and we talk.”
Oftentimes I think we can be left wanting in our prayer lives; finding ourselves asking for this or that, praying for something to change, or showing up to Mass because we think it is just “what we are suppose to do” and following the motions. However, I challenge us to take a deeper look at our own prayer life. What does it look like to be in a friendship with someone? Friendship is not just about asking, but about being present. If we pursue and desire a relationship with Jesus, we must be willing to be present in conversation with Him. We must be willing to set down the phone, close the app, put the papers away or slow down our thoughts, and listen.
When we consider stewardship of time, we mean building a relationship, or friendship, with God. Cultivating that one-on-one relationship with Him, no matter where we are in the faith journey or even how old we are. We can each pray and talk with Him. I hope each of us has the opportunity to be enriched by the “tiniest” believers in our pews and in turn be inspired by their friendship with Jesus.