In spring 2015, Pew Research Center released the results of their U.S. religious landscape study. It confirmed what many had suspected--that people are bailing out of the Catholic and mainstream Protestant churches, a continuation of the trend of the past few decades. People seem frustrated trying to build their personal relationships with their Creator by "practicing religion". So how do ordinary people meet God?
God gives us invitations to meet him every day. Every second. God reveals his plan and presence in our lives through, what I term, "G-vites". For much of my life, I ignored G-vites presented to me in my ordinary day. Instead, I let others define the way to connect with God.
In my first book, A Change of Habit: A Spiritual Journey from Sister Mary Kateri to Sister Mary Vodka, I shared my spiritual quest. Joining a Catholic convent, I flew onto what I thought was the fast track to God.
I, like so many, relied on traditional organized religion to lead me to a personal connection with the Divine through prescribed rules, rites, and rituals. The Catholic Church defined my spiritual practices and I embraced the belief that my relationship with God had to be earned through perfect participation in my religious order.
But the personal connection eluded me. I had to make a tough decision. After seven years of my marriage to Christ, I left the Catholic convent to seek that personal connection in secular life.
On my own, I floundered. Without my superiors leading the way and overseeing my spiritual development, I felt empty. My traditional checklist of religious dogma and customs failed me. I longed to discover how ordinary people, outside a structured religious life, connected with their Creator.
I now know that God is not a divinity to be met on Sundays in church. All the pomp and incense will not draw me closer to God. Nor is God the mean bearded grumpy old man scowling over a ledger of my good and bad actions as depicted in my Catholic prayer books.
Instead, God is an all-loving, every day God. I've found God in ordinary circumstances, no matter how joyful or sorrowful, calling me into union with the Divine. My life is a gift, and my mission is to be open, receptive and responding to God's invitations.
I've gathered a culmination of my spiritual findings in G-vites: Everyday Invitations from God. This book serves as a handbook for practical spirituality to establish a relationship with the Creator through a progression of 27 ordinary invitations from God to find our why, survive adversity and celebrate happiness.
So, how do G-vites work?
As each situation in life presents itself, we can respond with one of two choices. We can accept the invitation to change, evolve and move deeper into the human experience to meet God. Or we can remain in the safety of the status quo defending our own positions, shutting down or protecting ourselves.
The important question is not whether we have found God. The bigger question is when God sends the G-vites to us in our every day circumstances, are we able to RSVP or do we merely trash the invitation. The choice is ours.
We are made for connection with our Creator. Don't waste another minute holding out or and looking for God in all the wrong places.
Here is your personal invitation. Let's learn to RSVP!
Connect with Patty Kogutek at http://pattykogutek.com
G-vites ~ Everyday Invitations from God: http://amzn.to/1RNDzZe