It's easy to forget about God...

There. I've said it. Now let me explain.

The fall has been insane, absolutely insane. Travel. Meetings. Volleyball season (my husband is a coach). Meetings. Being a mom. Teaching. To-do lists. Writing. Cleaning house. Phone calls to return. Meetings. Church responsibilities. Emails that need replies. Meetings. Life has gone at a furious pace for more than two months. And tomorrow I leave to teach in Texas. It just never ends.

When life is flying past me at Mach 7, all I feel like I can do is hang on for dear life and hope the merry-go-round stops soon so I can get my bearings (and not throw up in the process). In the midst of the craziness,  it's really easy to forget about God

Do you ever feel that way? If you're honest, I bet you do.

I was talking with a friend in the hallway just this week and she said something that rang so true. She said, "I get in my car sometimes and say, 'Lord, I've been working with your Word all day and I haven't even talked to you.'" I love her honesty.

That's the danger of working where I do. We're around Christian people with Christian beliefs and Christian behavior (most of the time). I can see a Christian bookstore outside my window and there's a workroom across the hall full of Bible studies, Bibles, curriculum and other Christian stuff. I just met for devotion and prayer with my department this morning (but had to leave early—for another meeting!).

I think if you're honest, you feel the same struggle, too. Maybe you don't work for a religious non-profit, but you understand all-to-well what I'm talking about. Work. The demands of kids. The pull between ministry and life. The desire to reach girls and the angst of feeling like there is so much more to do. And when life is flying by so fast, it's really hard for you to remember that the God of the universe who created your heart is as close as its beating in your chest. It's easy to forget that God is in control over the chaos that seems to be spinning furiously out of control.

I'm grateful that God is timeless. That He knows the end from the beginning and knows that there will be times when as a human being, I will see through a glass very darkly. It will be diffiult to stay attentive with Him. There will be days when the most honest thing I can pray is, "Help me, Lord."

I'm grateful that He welcomes those prayers. That His presence is my life is not determined by my attentiveness to Him. And that when the dust settles, the first words out of His mouth won't be words of condemnation, judgment, and shame. The first words I hear from Him are simply, "I've missed you."

I've missed Him, too.