“Come Along in Our Company” by Melanie Rigney (@melanierigney)

Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Then (Moses) said, “If I find favor with you O LORD, do come along in our company. This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and wins, and receive us as your own.” (Exodus 34:9)

The Lord is kind and merciful. (Psalm 103:8a)

“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.” (Matthew 13:43)

Piety

Lord, You are a challenging traveling companion with Your call to love and obey. I ask for the faith to stay by your side.

Study

Road trips.

They always sound like so much fun—until they begin.

Then you find out your companion likes the vehicle five degrees warmer or colder than you do. You find out that she’s really a morning person, up and chirpy and ready to go before the sun’s up. You find out his idea of on time is within thirty minutes of the appointed time for dinner or the museum. You find out that listening to her discuss the deep inner meaning of a Reuben sandwich for mile after mile when all you want to do is appreciate the scenery is, well, challenging.

But you survive the trip and, generally, the little things that annoyed you along the way fade with time, and you remember with fondness the night you were trapped together at the fado place in Lisbon or the day you got lost together looking for the Building Museum or the great meal you had at that Wisconsin biker bar that happened to be the only place in town to get lunch.

Travel with God’s a lot like any other road trip. Sometimes, His timing appears to be really off. Sometimes, it doesn’t seem like He’s going to show up at all, and other times, He talks way too much. But faith gives us the confidence to stay on the journey with Him, faith and those little gifts when we look back and see His footprints all over the times we faced roadblocks and detours. And so, we acknowledge His greatness, seek His forgiveness for the times we whined and complained, and invite the best traveling companion of all to come along in our company.

Action

Identify a spot where your neck is particularly stiff when it comes to your relationship with God. Turn over the navigation to Him for a while, and feel the difference.

Image Credit: https://pixabay.com/en/car-couple-feet-legs-outdoors-2326423/