Simple gifts

Something that has been on my mind quite a bit lately has been my relationship with God and how I am maintaining that relationship. I am very much a believer in God and try to be a faithful woman and a "good" Catholic (whatever that really means). Attending church lately has been difficult because of Ben's insistence to not sit still and be as loud as possible...I don't blame him! When you are loud at Sacred Heart, there is an echo and it is pretty cool! So I have been trying not to get stressed out about the whole church thing and find other ways that I can be faithful and spiritual.

There are two things that I have heard recently that I have been trying to focus on. They are both simple and I think it is important for me to remember that:
1--Prayer is simple. This was the message from the visiting priest at church this past weekend. I never really remember the details of any homily, but the main point that I felt he was making on Sunday (or at least what I am taking away) is that prayer is not complicated. Prayer is nothing more than a conversation with God.
2--Doing good for others is doing good for God. This was the message that I took away from the priest at my mom and dad's church a few weeks ago. How simple is that!? Giving to others and doing good for others can be done in so many ways, and in doing so, we do good for God.

I know that some people would tell me that there are so many ways to be spiritual that don't involve going to church, and I believe them. However, I know that for me, going to church really adds to the physical part of my spirituality and faithfulness, so I enjoy going. I can definitely tell the times when I am not mindful about this aspect of my life. When I do keep it in the forefront of my mind, it seems like other things are more in line with what I would like them to be.

I know that continuing my faith journey as Ben gets older (and as I get older) will change and I have to be OK with that. Hopefully if I keep these two thoughts in my mind, I won't get bogged down with the larger concept of it all! I guess the thought of simplicity is something that could be applied to every aspect of my life. I don't need things to be complex or difficult to understand. And as one of my favorite church hymns reminds me, "tis a gift to be simple."