Time for Spiritual Growth

Time is a gift.  We need it, we love it, we hate it, we never have enough of it, we use it, we squander it.  How do we use it best to grow spiritually?  Sometime we long for the idyllic plateau when we've caught up with everything, conquered our vices, overcome our defects, and have achieved such peace of mind that we feel that at last we can proceed with our spiritual growth.  Well, the secret is that our daily tasks, our being stuck in traffic, our losing things, our race with the clock, in a word, all the ordinary things of daily life ARE our spiritual life. It's a growth process that includes all of he above, and all that you can add to it.
However, there is a further and necessary way we need to enhance our desired growth, and with Lent around the corner, it might be something to consider as part of our Lenten regimen. It is taking time simply to BE with our Lord and God.  Recent studies have shown that the pursuit of money and material things do not bring about happiness or fulfillment, but the development of relationships does.  Relationships take time and communication to make them work and grow.  The ultimate relationship or friendship is with God, and this is the one that brings the most peace and happiness.  Jesus asked his chosen apostles in Gethsemane, "Can you not watch one hour with me?"  (Mt 26:40). Well, in today's world, we might modify the question to "Can you not spend 15 minutes with me?"  If we do, we'll find at first that it takes 10 minutes to settle down and clear away the inner baggage we carry, and that the last 5 minutes produce peace, so much so, that we then we might move beyond the 15 to 20, or 30.  A half hour or an hour apart with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is more productive than hours of  frenetic, superficial labor. Try it, you'll see.   Lent is a time for spiritual growth, it's time to use it to the fullest.
Bro. Rene