Made for Something More

So branching off the last post when I gave you a brief intro, another bit of information about me: I love to listen to Catholic podcasts.  I don’t have a ton of time for reading (although I try at night and I’ve gotten really good at sleeping upright holding a book), but I usually can find 10 minutes in the car to listen to podcasts.

I like them because they help me stay focused, feel inspired and energized and keep my thoughts on holy and good things.  Recently, I listened to an episode of a podcast called Abiding Together, which is hosted by three women around my age, one being a sister.  This particular episode was from around Pentecost and was all about the Holy Spirit.

My biggest take away from this show was the idea that there is “something more” for us.  A priest was on the show and he was saying that many Catholics have not actually encountered the Spirit dwelling within them, so as they try to live our their faith, they don’t have the power of the Spirit so they are struggling with it and falling away into despair.

Basically, the Holy Spirit is what animates our lives and helps us to understand and know the Father and the Son.  To explain he gave a great analogy: you look at the ocean and admire it’s beauty and wonder at how expansive it is.  But if you put on snorkel goggles and look beneath the surface, you’ll discover that it is teeming with life.  In the spiritual life, the ocean is God’s love and the Holy Spirit is like the snorkel goggles.  Without the help of the Holy Spirit, you might admire God from the surface, but after you put on the goggles, you will discover a whole new world below the surface teeming with life and energy.

The basic gist of this analogy is that many of us do not realize that there is something more to the spiritual life than what we experience on the surface.

The words, “something more,” really struck me as I sat listening.  How very true these words have been my entire life.

In my life, it’s as if I sensed there was something more, yet I had no way of knowing what that something was, how to find it or what it meant for my life.  I tried to seek it, like many of us do, in different pursuits, always still longing to figure out what was missing.  The search was a battle that I didn’t know I was fighting until reaching the other side.  The search was meant for me.  And in due time, as I proved myself, the Spirit has revealed to me Who that something was.

And in that process, I have learned some invaluable lessons – lessons that I can share with others who are also searching.   In the search for something more, I have twisted and turned, been tempted and been sinful, been despondent and in despair, been broken and blessed. 

We all have a long, long road to travel but I trust that He has brought me here and He will continue to guide me on the narrow path.  And as I continue to travel this road of faith, I must always keep in mind that there is something more for me, for all of us. 

The ocean of God’s love is limitless.  All of us will always be discovering more life below the surface.  So no matter where you are in your journey, there is always something more to discover in the life of faith.  There is always more grace, always more love, always more mercy, always more freedom, always more life.  Until we have everything with Our Lord in eternity, there will always be something more for us. 

So I invite you to join me in your search for something more, to travel this road together, as we discover all that Our Lord has in store for us.