We are each a little kingdom made in God’s image of goodness and love. Yet sometimes we feel impatient, anxious, overwhelmed, over-burdened, and under-appreciated. We feel negative, depressed, and lonely. We feel that God has abandoned us. We feel that no one cares about us. We feel lost in a spiritual desert.
Any time we feel off-center and out of control, we have become a divided kingdom. This is the time when we must take a deep look inside ourselves to discover the source of the division. Often we are grieving a loss—job, friendship, marriage, our children heading off to college, health, a loved one’s death. Grief is complicated. We go through cycles of anger, blame, bargaining, and depression before we let go and accept reality. We need to be especially gentle during times of grieving.
Sometimes we are afraid—of failure, change, letting others down, the consequences of our actions, the future, death. Fear paralyzes us. It is an inability to love ourselves in the moment. When we recognize the fear, we can reassure ourselves of God’s unconditional love and pray to be guided by that love.
Once we acknowledge the source of our inner division, we feel reconnected with God, the source of our wholeness, and find our way out of the spiritual desert we have experienced.
Ponder: What divides my inner kingdom?
Prayer: Lord, you speak words of unity and love. Forgive me for not listening. Show me how to live an integrated life of faith, hope, and love.
Practice: Today I will pray for a spirit of wholeness; I will fast from divisiveness; I will join in a community gathering.
Adapted from Mindful Meditations for Every Day of Lent and Easter
by Rev. Warren J. Savage and Mary Ann McSweeny (Liguori Publications, © 2011).