Catechist Know-How August 2008

By Mary Lou Rosien

Getting our Attention

I was out in the yard visiting my next-door neighbor, so I left my five-month-old puppy in the house. When I came in she barked and barked, but I was distracted by getting a few things done. When I went into the kitchen to get her a few minutes later I noticed she had peed on the floor. She looked up at me, and — I think — she was smiling. She had found a way to get my attention!

It made me stop and think that sometimes God has to use some interesting ways to get my attention, too. I have begun to realize that on occasion, when it feels like everything is going wrong, it is just the good Lord’s way of making me take notice. When I storm around the kitchen, stressed at the mess muttering, “Help me, Lord,” under my breath, do I even see that God may be allowing the mess just so I remember to talk to Him? When my husband suffers horrible stress at work, is the Lord just making sure that he will remember to hit his knees that night?

Using these insights we may see God trying to reach us in small ways. Perhaps God is asking me to have a conversation as I wait for a slow train to pass. Is He hoping I will call out to Him when my child is sick or my teenager doesn’t come home by curfew?

When we work with our students, we can teach them to recognize that difficulties, inconveniences, and even quiet times may just be the Lord trying to get their attention.

My nine-year-old daughter reminded me that she thinks God does what her Uncle Joey does. Whenever her uncle calls us or answers his phone at home, he simply says, “Talk to me.” Anya quipped that God does that, too.

Sometimes at Mass after Communion or sometimes with something sudden just like Uncle Joe’s phone calls; yes, I think she’s on to something. Even times when we may be scared or tempted to sin, may be times God is trying to get our attention.

A car in front of you skids to a stop, you glance in your rearview mirror to make sure you will not be hit by the car behind. “Oh, God,” you quickly pray and God answers, “Talk to me.” Someone upsets you and before you can stop yourself, you swear, “God!” He hears and says, “Talk to me.” Exhausted, you look at the mess in your daughter’s room, you sigh and think, “Oh, my God.” The Lord answers, “Please, talk to me (let me show you how neat she is going to keep her home when she is older!).”

The next time one of our students is sharing a difficulty, a surprise, or a frustration, maybe we will be able to share with him that God may be trying to get his attention. And just maybe, the next time it happens to me, I will recognize it, too.

“Talk to me.”

“Okay, Lord, now where was I…”

Mary Lou Rosien can be found talking to herself (or perhaps she is conversing with God) at her home in North Chili, NY. You can contact her at mrosien@rochester.rr.com.