I haven’t the slightest idea of what this Twitch will wind up containing. Is it a function of age that there are times when you just don’t think things are important enough or interesting enough to bother someone else with whatever you think?

I celebrated my birthday with my brother and his family. My niece Helen brought in the cake with two candles on it. They were the numbers “7” and “1.” I’ve got pictures that say I am “17.” Helen is definitely my favorite 17-year-old niece.

This hymn occurs in the night prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours which we pray every day:

In Manus Tua
This world, my God, is held within your hand,
Though we forget your love and steadfast might
And in the changing day uncertain stand,
Disturbed by morning, and afraid of night.
From youthful confidence to careful age,
Help us each one to be your loving friend,
Rewarded by the faithful servant’s wage,
God in three persons, reigning without end.” 

As I prayed the hymn I thought to myself, “I guess I fall into the ‘careful age’ category.” What a descriptive phrase. Perhaps as another birthday rolls around – and thank you for the kind wishes and songs – you can’t help but think about what you do with time.

My time has been very blessed. If I have the good sense to sit down every once in a while and think about it, I can look back and see all the places where God was very active. I think I might have mentioned this before, but it’s worth repeating: the only way I can appreciate the fact that God is with me today, is by looking back and seeing he was with me yesterday.

It works in different ways for different folk. Some have an instantaneous sense of the presence of God, but I am someone who most of the time must look back, and that gives me the confidence and comfort of knowing if He was there yesterday, he is here today, even if I’m not sure quite where. Now that’s definitely one advantage to age. The more time that passes the more things I have to look back and be grateful for.

And yes, I’m even coming to the point in my life of being able to say thanks for the hard times. I don’t believe, and never have and never will, that God sends problems to test me. I know where the problems come from. I DO believe that there is no problem that has come along for which God didn’t send me the grace to deal with it. Sometimes I was deaf or blind or stubborn or preoccupied or whatever, but eventually God gets through if you want him to get through.

Remember: Every time you hear the word “grace” think “relationship.” Relationships happen between persons. Good relationships happen between friends.

Let your eye rove back and savor the second verse, second line of the hymn: “Help us each one to be your loving friend.”

All things considered, for me time is a blessing that God gives me to come closer and closer to Him in THIS life. I think that’s my precondition for “being happy with him in the next.”

Let me tweak “precondition” a bit. I said using time to come closer is my precondition. Don’t start worrying about all the relatives you have who don’t seem to have a clue about God at this point in their lives. Your prayer is going to open doors for them that you may never be aware of. Just know that your prayer IS making a difference. That’s what being faithful is all about.