Relationship With God?

If someone were to ask me about my relationship with God I’d have to say that it is both personal and active. Personal because I believe God knew me even while I was being formed inside my mom’s womb; active because good relationships are not passive.

People assume that because I believe in God that I am religious. But, I’m not religious. I do not adhere to a system. I do not go to church, I do not tithe, I do not confess my sins and I do not do penance. Instead, I’m in a relationship with God. 

I’d always known about God. My parents introduced him to me. They took me to church, had me baptized as an infant and as I grew older, I was educated in the sacraments of confession, holy communion and prayer. 

Like one who knows about famous people such as the Pope, the president or a popular musician, that is how I knew God. When someone knows about someone, the relationship is cordial, cautious, distant and intermittent.

Knowing God personally is an entirely different kind of relationship. Knowing someone personally means there is a continuous, steady, and deepening mutual relationship. We get comfortable in each other’s presence, attentive to one another’s words, and share our innermost thoughts without fear. 

How did I get from knowing about God to knowing God personally? I had an encounter. Just when I was literally ready to end my life, God showed up and invited me to live life differently. 

The experience gave me a choice I did not know existed. I could actually choose to live differently by allowing God to show me, or I could stick with what I was doing and put a literal end to my unhappiness. I chose to allow God to show me, to teach me, and to guide me. 

Since that time, I’ve come face to face with some of my misnomers concerning God. For instance, when I gave birth to our third born son, who was already dead, I was stunned. I’d prayed for a miracle; that God would give him the breath of life, but the miracle did not happen. 

Then I prayed that God would show me why my son had died; had I done something wrong? But God said nothing about any hidden sins in my life. Then why? But there was no pat answer to what had happened.

After a year of grieving and wondering I finally got an answer. I went to the cemetery to take a look at the headstone that we’d purchased and had installed. Standing over our son’s grave I noticed other headstones just like our son’s; birthdate and death date as the same day. 

It dawned on me; still births are not uncommon, and I’m not the one in charge of someone else’s death date; God is. An important epiphany I’ve never forgotten. 

The thing about having a relationship with God is that it is an ongoing life changing experience. 

Why Bother?

Why bother having a relationship with God? It is a choice we get to make and once we make that choice, far more than we can ever imagine takes place.

P.S.  I wrote the story of my journey to forgiveness for those who need clarity when it comes to understanding forgiveness. You can find A Heart’s Journey To Forgiveness at Redemption Press and Amazon.