In small group during the prayer time, we’ve been trying the Ignatius prayers as a framework for discussion.   We go over a point of desolation (where God is seemingly absent) and consolation (where God is noticeably present) and consider how God is moving in us through those times.

I’ve been realizing that points of desolation are primed for points of consolation, if we decide to make them so.  For me personally, my weighty and tangled mess of stress, expectations, responsibilities and deadlines goes from desolation to consolation as I consciously acknowledge Gods presence in that very instant.  The circumstances do not change, but my perspective does in that I know God is with me.

The reality is that despite my feelings of desolation, God is present in my life and consolation is within reach.  I’m discovering that lately God is speaking most clearly in my moments of desolation.  At the very least he is saying, acknowledge me; and acknowledging God in your life is a beautiful and renewing experience.