Two Humble Steps
and yes, it's changing my life
Have you ever felt lost? Have you ever felt so lost that life knocked you to the ground and when you opened your eyes, all you could see was every aspect of your life crumbled into piles around you; piles so monumental you’d never be able to put them back together. Your health, relationships, career, finances, future, past; everything in your life just broken to bits, surrounding you and making you feel helpless. I understand. That is exactly where I found myself in 2024.
I thought I could “fix” myself with medication, therapy, journaling, doodling and reading books on how to get myself together. It’s not that those things didn’t help. For me though, these things were a band-aid, not a solution. They helped me get to a point where I could be honest and open with myself and understand that I needed a solution. Little did I know that I would find (actually rediscover) the one solution to change everything in my life.
Since January 1, 2025 my morning routine has been the same. Whether it’s a workday, a day off or away on a trip, each morning I have one focus, follow the same steps and it is significantly changing my life. My priority is, God First.
Before I jump into my morning doings, a little background is in order. This is not my first relationship with God. I was raised Catholic, well, sort of. I was baptized, went to confession on Saturdays and church on Sundays; got on my knees bedside each night and quietly said my prayers. I received my sacraments up through confirmation and half my schooling from kindergarten through high school was in a Catholic school.
Why do I say I was “sort of” raised Catholic? Because outside of school and church, I don’t remember God being part of everyday life. We just didn’t talk about God. Even my grandmothers who, when I was young, knew for certain they were going to heaven someday, didn’t talk to me about God. For me in the 70s and early 80s, being a Catholic was little more than an hour to hour and half of routine each week.
So, when I turned 18 years old and didn’t “have” to go to church anymore, I didn’t. Thus began a 35 year series of questionable decisions and though I still prayed (sporadically at best) I felt God answered me less and less.
There was no lightning bolt or booming voice from the sky that helped me open the door to welcoming God back into my life. Rather, it was my younger sister who said, in a tone that only a younger sister can use, “What do you mean you haven’t seen The Chosen? What’s wrong with you? It’s amazing!”
Of course I binge watched the first four seasons of The Chosen; not once or twice, but three times. I felt such a pull to the story of Jesus unlike I ever felt in the past. I also ordered a book of devotionals that she recommended, Trusting God with Today, to begin the new year.
From there, a daily beginning of God First became like breathing. I begin each day like this - the moment I open my eyes, I say good morning to God. I thank him for giving me another day. Then, after getting out of bed, I sit at my desk and read the devotional for the day.
These two humble steps are only the beginning of a huge positive shift that is happening in my life. They are the beginning of an active relationship with God throughout my day.
Yes, it all starts here.