Letters to Heaven: The Key Ingredient

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."—Colossians 4:2

August 11, 2006

Dear Jesus:

Summer is almost over and I'm happy to say it's gone pretty well. It's been a relaxing summer. I have been able to deal with my to-do list one item at a time and I have been able to cross out a lot of items. There were a few instances when I felt very overwhelmed and anxious, but all in all, I've done pretty good. I still have a lot of things on my to-do list but I'm not stressing over them. I will handle one item at a time.

I started a prayer group and even though not a lot of people have come, it gave me a sense of peace and tranquility. I don't think I will continue to host it after the summer because it's a lot of work to get the house ready every week for just one person to show up. I will continue to do my daily reflections and prayers on my own.

I love You, Jesus!!!

August 11, 2017

Dear Jesus:

I have come a long way. I used to get so anxious when I had a lot to do. I felt I couldn't handle it all. Even though I still feel anxious when I have to meet deadlines at work, I have learned to compartmentalize my life. I also don't write as many "to-do" lists as I used to. I realized that having so much on my list was part of the reason for my anxiety. Now, I just try to tackle three things per day, and that's all. If I make it through those three things, it's a good day. If I do more, it's a really good day. If I can't finish, there's always tomorrow.

My prayer group that summer of 2006 failed because I was putting more effort into being a Martha and not enough time into being a Mary. I was stressed out because I wanted to make sure the house was perfect for the prayer group and that took hours of preparation. I failed to concentrate on the key ingredient.

Now, I have a prayer group and it takes me 30 minutes tops to prepare. All I offer is coffee, juice and fruits. And like your miracle of the multiplication of the breads, we always have more food than we can eat. Someone always brings something to share. But the key ingredient is the prayer time. We pray the rosary, we read a book and we discuss it. Right now, we are reading "Understanding the Faith" by Father Michael Garcia. He's a young 28 year-old priest at St. Louis. The book is amazing. He has managed to summarize the entire Bible in 104 pages, and he has done a wonderful job of explaining all the key points. It's almost like a "Cliff Notes" version of the Bible. Every week, 12 to 20 ladies show up. And we have all the generations covered, from grandmothers to some sweet teenage girls that are madly in love with You. It's a great mix because we get the young views and the mature perspective. Our discussions are lively and You are always at the center. Thank You, Jesus, for putting this prayer group together because this was definitely your doing. And this time, I'm not leaving out the key ingredient. You are the central focus of our prayer group.

I love You, Jesus!!!