A Great Question

“God is here, right now, at our side. We can see him in this mist, in the ground we're walking on, even in my shoes. His angels keep watch while we sleep and help us in our work. In order to find God, you have only to look around.”  ~Paulo Coehlo

A few weeks ago, one of my friends posted the following question on Facebook:

What is the one thing you have done/habit you have formed that has most impacted your faith?

I thought it was a great question.  You'll hear my answer later this week.  But while mulling it over for myself, I decided that I should ask the question of some of the people in my life whose faith I greatly respect.

Charles River Bridge - Prague, Czech Republic - 2013

Some said that it was silence--a monastic retreat, sitting in the quiet, being still and knowing He is God.  For others, it was interactions with people, talking through questions, finding encouragement throughout their lives when God seemingly placed the right people there at the right time.

Some pointed to scripture reading.  Others to Christian books.  One to various podcasts of messages from the best preachers across the world.  Another to consistent, continual prayer on a daily basis.  One to miraculously surviving a car accident from which she should never have walked away.

For some it was intentional acts....setting quiet time, praying with a spouse.  For others, something wholly happenstance....stumbling upon a church, attending a retreat because their friend needed a roommate. 

One said fasting.  Another, knowing that his grandmother always prayed for him.  One to trying to continually be aware of His presence.  For another, asking challenging questions rather than just buying into whatever others believed.  One mentioned taking her young children to Mass (stressful as that may be!)  Another recalled a Bible verse read to her when she was only 9 years old and her father was killed in an accident.

So what should we take from all of this?  That all of us find God in different ways, in different places, doing different things.  I think the important thing is simply that we find Him.  That we experience Him.  That we love Him.  And that we share that with others.  No matter the form that may take.