Finding God in traffic jams
“How’s life been for you?” “Busy”. Isn’t that what we normally say? If we are to think of our day, week, month or year? It’s been busy. Granted there can be great moments with friends and family, and wonderful experiences but in the main, the pace of life is fast. Alot of the time we rush from A to B, so the idea of giving our Lord a couple minutes of our time seems impossible.
Food for the body is not enough. There needs to be food for the soul (Dorothy Day)
Giving time to talk to God is so essential because your heart needs it. You need time out. You need time to be with someone who you can be 100% vulnerable. To let down your guard entirely and be with someone that loves you so much.
You don’t have time but you most likely do have your commute. You need to get from A to B. Rather than filling that time with other important things, why not fill it with an essential thing - your relationship with God.
Luckily for all of us, you can talk out loud in your car because people will think you’re talking on the phone. Talking out loud on public transport is not going to happen but centring your thoughts on Him and closing off other distractions is possible.
In the car, it’s totally possible to talk out loud with our Lord - imagine He is sitting just beside you in the passenger seat and talk to Him. Tell Him about your life, about what is bothering you, what you are happy about, what you wish could change or what you would love to improve about yourself. In short, just be you.
To pray is to talk to God, but about what? About Him, about yourself; joys, sorrows, successes, and failures, noble ambitions, daily worries, weaknesses! (St Josemaria Escriva)
See your car or your public transport as your time and space with our Lord. You can use music like the typical concentration playlist on spotify to centre your thoughts and calm you a little. It’s all about creating that space that will help you.
Rather than imagining this conversation to be interminable - like rush hour traffic on the M50 - think “I’m going to give these 10 minutes to our Lord”. The important thing is constancy not quantity, so start off small, especially if it’s your first time deciding to talk to Him like this. If your mind wanders because someone cut you off or you just simply got distracted, return again to the conversation. Obviously it helps if you can talk out loud because it means your mind is less likely to wander. If you can’t talk out loud (because you’re on public transport) it helps to use a notebook or your phone to jot down ideas.
You might think: but isn’t this kind of silly? when will He respond? Am I just talking to no-one?
Granted our Lord will not speak to you in a normal way but He does speak to you and He will speak to you in different ways. Maybe not at the time of your commute but during the day, He’ll give you insights and let you know that He is close to you. It’s very personal for each person, just as each person is very unique.
How to pray? This is a simple matter. I would say: Pray any way you like, so long as you do pray. (St John Paul II)
There are many aids to help you to pray like 10 minutes with Jesus but just remember they are aids, they are not an end in themselves. The goal is having a real friendship with the Person, Jesus Christ, who loves you better than anyone could love you.
And lastly but most importantly, I guess, be patient with yourself in this. Discouragement can creep in and we can think this is a waste of time, but be patient with yourself and give your soul the food it needs. Just like with real food, you don’t notice the effects of a change of diet until a couple of weeks go by, the same can be said of spiritual food. You might not notice any difference, but it is making a difference.