Eternity vs Now

Catholics have a favorite prayer, the Glory Be to the Father, in which we praise God as he was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Lately, when I pray that prayer, I think a lot about now versus eternity.

It's humbling to think that we are living in a mere speck of time. That's all our lives are, compared to what has gone before, and what is yet to come. And yet, God takes our prayers, our worries, our joys, very seriously. He loves us so much that he treats each of our "small" concerns as though they were of the utmost importance.

When I think of my worries, in connection with eternity, or even in comparison with troubles in other countries, and even in other neighborhoods in my own city, and even behind the closed doors of my nearest neighbors, I realize I am not that big a deal, importance-wise. I often say that prayer just to remind myself of how little importance my own small life is.

And yet, to keep it all in its place, no matter how small a speck in time we occupy, we each touch others, every day. Even if we do not leave our homes, or our rooms, there are phones, computers, mail. We can touch others with our thoughts and our prayers.

Time, and life, is amazing and enormous and intricate.

Father, please help me to always remember I am nothing without you, and help me to remember that with you, I can be all that you hope and expect me to be.