A reflection written in the midst of my first semester of college…

Flirting starts based off of an initial attraction: a girl notices a guy, likes what she sees, and starts playfully teasing him in an effort to show him she’s there and interested-  though ultimately it’s up to him to make the first move.  Maybe he flirts back, and they discover they get along quite well, but they could very easily continue flirting for the next two months without anything happening or either of them learning anything about each other.  Until they begin to have serious conversations their relationship will never progress beyond playful, and neither of them will really grow or benefit from their time together because they are not cultivating a lasting connection, only using each other for enjoyment.

Over the past couple weeks I’ve discovered that God works the same way.  I can stop here and there to pray for a couple minutes, I can go to Mass every day, I can even say quick prayers in the morning and evening for guidance, but if in all those instances I’m only giving God part of the attention- or only caring when He is entertaining me- and never really opening my heart to Him and trying to learn more about Him, our relationship is going to have “all the passion of a pair of titmice” (hats off to William Parrish).  Throughout the past two weeks I’ve discovered that I can’t flirt with God and expect Him to respond- I have to give Him more than a wink and a wish list.jesusknocking

Just as the perfect gentleman will not invade the areas of a lady’s heart that he has not yet been invited to explore, Jesus can only knock on the door, and I have to open and answer.  If I want to feel Him close to me, if I want Him to bless me, if I truly want His guidance in my life, I have to do more than talk to Him through the window- only showing Him part of my heart, but not the whole- I have to open the door.

It may be hard, but unlike an immature guy, God is not going to break or abuse the parts of my heart that I give Him.  As a matter of fact, He will cherish every piece and- once I have given Him everything- put it back together in a way more perfect and beautiful than I could ever manage.

Abigail C. Reimel

Abigail C. Reimel

Abigail C. Reimel is a budding Catholic author in love with her faith. Though her more immediate dreams include successfully completing college and securing an editing position, she ultimately hopes to live in a little beach house with her future family while writing books that present "the good, the true, and the beautiful" to the young adult generation in an exciting way. She has been published in the St. Austin Review and hopes to be published many more times in the future. She adores living by the ocean, but traded salty winds for mountain air to attend Christendom College, where she is majoring in English.

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