What we need is grace and we all know it is not a pill we can just pop in our mouths to easily counter life’s woes. Grace is a choice, but over and above that it is a gift. I always like to believe it isn’t out there somewhere, but rather it is deep within us just waiting to exhale. Find it, grab it, and like a time-release capsule draw upon it to sustain you when the going gets tough or when the tough gets you going nuts.
1) Drop by the church at an odd hour and pray.
Sure it’s nice to be in fellowship with others during regular Mass but there is a different serenity altogether with being in God’s house when everything is quiet and it is just you and Him (and maybe a few others). It’s amazing how much closer He will seem to be.
Dropping by the Blessed Sacrament will also prove to be an equal pleasure. It does not have to be a one-hour affair, just immerse yourself in His presence. Don’t know what to say? Don’t say anything; He already knows. Just give that moment to Him. There are times when I can go on and on with my stories and requests (He probably is on the brink of stuffing His ears with cotton because I just won’t stop) and then there are times when I just don’t know what to say, much less where to start. On both occasions I am assured that He is there and that is more than enough, more than I will ever deserve even.
I always have in my prayer book a little prayer called "A Quarter of an Hour before the Blessed Sacrament," given to me by a good friend. It is one of the most heartwarming and compelling prayers I have ever encountered (it is actually like being personally spoken to by Jesus, with Him guiding you through all areas that you want covered in prayer) and is easily one of my favorites. Try to get a copy, it is worth having. It makes for a very intimate conversation/prayer guide all the time.
Still on that note, have you ever noticed how a person, when deep in prayer, seems to be softly smiling? And chances are, he/she is not even doing it consciously. That never ceases to awe me.
2) Be nice.
Ideally I would say that we have to always be nice, but that’s not always possible so let’s settle (for now at least) for being nice as often as you humanly can. It is easy to be nice to the people we like but try to be the same towards people we are not too fond of and you will catch yourself on an under-dosage of grace. In life there will always be those who will scar and numb us with their devious ways and if we cannot live with them, let us at least go on with our lives without getting mad or getting even.
Pushing yourself to the limit is the name of the game here. What we can no longer maintain, let us leave up to Him to sustain. Resist the urge to lash back at those who have hurt you. It just won’t be worth it in the end.
3) Smile.
Always. At trees, even, if you want to. Always find something to smile about and be thankful for, no matter how bad your day was. You will soon realize there are far more many things to be grateful for, so little to complain about. Before going to sleep, Richard and I always have this little nighttime ritual. We ask each other "Honey, what was the highlight of your day?" Our answers are always different each day, sometimes they are heartwarming, other times they are sweet, yet others downright hilarious. Whatever the case, we often realize that if we really think about it there is never just one highlight of the day. It always, always happens in the plural sense – isn’t that so generous of Him?
4) Give until it hurts.
Give to charity. Help a person in need (even if he is the same one you have helped for the nth time). If you have something to share, do so. He blesses us according to how He wants us to share our blessings. We are but channels of God’s grace and the more we are aware of that, the more people we help and the better life will be. It is a chain reaction, a gift that keeps on giving.
It is a proven fact that the more you give the more you will have. You will never be in want. Give with a happy heart, and please do not announce to the whole city the good you have done. Doing so practically defeats the purpose.
5) Have a happy thought.
For your loved one, your friend, heck even your enemy. Send a lot of happy thoughts throughout the day and you will find hundreds of them going back to you in many different ways.
All these are things we have learned in religion class in grade school. They are nothing new but from time to time, we will find that they are buried beneath the pages of accumulated hurts, everyday activities and pressures, a harried life. Make an effort to dust the pages and make your spirit sparkle again.