Dear Kianna, 

My schedule is really full, and I feel short on time every day. How can I balance faith and my busy schedule?

– Short on Time


Dear Short, 

With school, work, relationships, extracurricular activities, hobbies and managing the responsibilities of daily life, it might feel impossible to find ways to make time for God. As a newlywed and full-time high school teacher, discovering the art of balance and infusing faith into my everyday life has been a recent focus. At the end of a long day — after teaching, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, exercising, spending time with my husband and talking with family — I can barely get enough hours of sleep to recharge for the day to come.

Here are three of my best tips for bringing the Lord into our packed schedules:

  • Intentionally carve out time for prayer. I’ve learned that if I am not intentional in finding ways to pray, I will be so distracted by the many activities I am juggling. The good news is that prayer can be cultivated in a creative fashion. For example, each morning, my husband and I say a quick morning offering prayer as we’re rolling out of bed. Because I leave for work first, he prepares breakfast. As he toasts the bagels and starts the coffee, he plays a guided prayer meditation on his phone and prays. On my drive to work, I play instrumental worship music or use this time to talk to the Lord.
  • Cultivate a deeper awareness of the presence of God around us. The Lord dwells within us and is so intimately involved in our lives. When I was a college athlete, I remember having a particularly hard morning workout that I did not feel motivated to complete. As I sprinted up the final hill, I asked the Lord to help me finish strong and felt the presence of the Holy Spirit around me. As I share with my students, they can think about God when they are taking notes or running down the soccer field. Even just a simple acknowledgement of his presence, a smile of thanksgiving or a short prayer for help can be done at any time.
  • At the end of each day, take a couple of minutes to answer, “Where did I see God today?” My husband and I have begun doing this, and it has been so fruitful for our spiritual lives. This simple reflection allows us to look back at the day and recount all the ways that God revealed his blessings and love to us. I love sharing the ways I encountered Christ through my students, coworkers, family and friends, in nature or even at the grocery store. This is a great exercise to do on your own or with a friend or loved one.

God is so near to you and me, and all we need to do is open the eyes of our hearts to see that his love is protecting and blessing us, especially amid our busy schedules.

May God bless you all!

This article appeared in the August/September 2024 issue of Northwest Catholic magazine. Read the rest of the issue here.