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It wasn’t the worst job I’ve ever had, but at the time I thought it was. My dad owned a lawn care service and shop. When I wasn’t working at the shop, I was out mowing lawns, trimming bushes and doing lawn care.

One of our customers wanted his driveway recovered with gravel. Not the small pea sized gravel, but big 1 – 2 inch sized stones. I remember arriving at the house to find a huge mound of rock. I also saw that dad had left me tools to make the job easier; a shovel and rake. If you have ever tried to spread gravel with a shovel and a rake before, you know, it isn’t easy.

At first I thought I would use the rake but discovered I wasn’t getting very far with that method. I thought the shovel might work better. It seemed like a good idea but the gravel was so heavy it was hard to get the shovel into the pile let alone get a good amount to spread.

So there I was....realizing this job was going to take a lot longer and be a lot harder than I thought. So little by little I chipped away at the huge mound of gravel. I don’t know how long it took me, but when I started I didn’t think I would ever be finished. I kept trying to imagine the pile getting smaller and smaller and how good it would be when I was finally done. The pile did grow smaller and smaller…until it was gone.

I believe many of you reading this would like to grow spiritually. At some point, you learned about Jesus. You heard about how Jesus loves you and how he came so that you might live with him even after you died. This was good news. All those sins that seem to trip you up were forgiven in an instant. You finally had peace.

But then life happens. We get distracted. We find ourselves running around trying to keep up our households, our jobs, and our families. Little by little, ‘spiritual’ things are left behind. The sad thing is, our peace is left behind too. We end up settling for a life that is nice and predictable, but leaves us wondering if there isn’t more. Perhaps deep within us there is a yearning or maybe even a wondering that maybe you were created for more.

You were. You were created to have an intimate relationship with the one who created you and the one who loves you. God has invited you to discover the depths of his grace, love, forgiveness, and peace. Many of us yearn for that, but everyday distracts tends to squeeze that desire out of us.

I believe we all need connection with God. When our connection with God is broken, our lives suffer, our relationships get strained, and we lose our sense of peace. Somehow, it is as if our lives know something is wrong. St. Augustine was reflecting this when he wrote (paraphrased), “Our hearts are restless until they rest in God.”

The good news is that God is always inviting us. His love is always available.