God and IKEA

Have you ever tried to put IKEA furniture together? It's always intimidating to open the many page document filled with pictures, numbers, and not a single word in English. Even more, you know that each step has to be done in order and correctly or the furniture won't hold up.

If a simple piece of furniture is so dependent on right-order, how can we think that our lives are any less so?

The trick is figuring out how to keep our lives in the right balance. Fortunately, we have been given some tools. Praise and prayer are the most effective tools we have. Communication and connection put the pieces together in the strongest of fashions.

We need to praise God, because in that process we become rightly ordered.

Bishop Robert Barron

How often do you go to church? Once a week? Once a month? Three times a year? We can see this as an obligation and a duty we must fulfill, and if we do, we're missing the point completely. If we truly understand the point of going to church, we won't miss it.

"Keep the Sabbath holy" and "Have no other gods before me" are not demands from God, but gifts to us. Stopping on a regular basis to reorient ourselves is a healthy and necessary practice as shown by many wellness studies. How much more fruitful would that time be if we spent it praising and connecting with God? How much easier would life be if you could regularly check in with the one who knows you best?

I try to attend Mass every day during the week. I didn't think I could do it until a friend challenged me, saying I shouldn't do the work I do without it. I schedule it on my calendar, and surprisingly enough, that connection helps all the rest fall into place. It's all in the right order.

Why do we place God first in our lives? Because when we do, our lives are put together well. They are balanced and strong, and they have a foundation that is unshakeable. It's a pretty good deal, don't you think?

What helps you keep your life in order?