Where Are You Going From Here?

                                            Where Are You Going From Here?

Eileen Renders

    It is fair to say that most Catholics will at times in their lives, reflect upon those big decisions and choices they have made during their lives. Most probably, we are attempting to reflect on whether we have made good choices. Choices that God might approve of. This is because as our lives propel forward, we are realizing that life itself is, as I like to call it, temporary.

   We realize too, that our Catholic Bible tells us that there will be a final judgment by God, and we will be sent to either Purgatory, Heaven, or Hell. As young adults, our focus and priorities are centered on education, finding a suitable partner to spend the rest of our lives with, buying a home, and raising children. There is absolutely nothing wrong with our objectives at all, except for how our goals are many, and can often create an imbalance in how we manage our time and priorities.

   Four major priorities will follow us throughout our lives, and I believe they take precedence as follows; God, Work, Sleep, and Relaxation. As we begin to mature into adulthood, we recognize that without God we would not have been born, we would not have our precious families, and we would not have the promise of eternity with God in heaven. Without working, we would be unable to eat every day or plan for owning a home. Without our spouse, we may lack motivation to work, or strive toward a future full of goals, and with a partner by our side. Hobbies, Vacations, and daily living could become mundane.

   To expound on our first priority, God, without Him in our lives to go to for comfort, support, guidance, and consolation, we would be living empty lives. We are God’s children, and when we make it an everyday practice to spend time with Him, to show Him that we love and need Him, we are graced with blessings such as protection, wisdom, joy, and much more! At our jobs, we are often told how to manage our time. The reason is to successfully, become more productive!

   Balancing our time, and setting priorities requires us to never exclude God from our consciousness, to spend time with Him each day at Mass, praying, or just talking to Him. Including Him in our daily lives and praying that He will include us one day when our lives come to an end in His heavenly Kingdom for all eternity.