Finding God in the Ordinary

Music has always been a huge thing in my life. It’s one of my main stress-busters/mood-boosters most especially when my mind needs a break (going for a drive, taking a walk, and saying a little prayer are the other things I do). My addiction to music started when I was really, really young. When I was about 10 or 11, I remember asking my dad to buy me a Sony Discman (actually I still have it today and it still works! I think…😅) as a Christmas present and since then, I’ve almost always had a pair of headset stuck right up on my ears haha😅.

And this morning, while on my desk and my mind needed a break, I found myself grabbing my phone and opening up Spotify. As I opened it, it showed the last song that I had listened to, “24/7” by Kevon Edmonds.

“Gosh, I can’t believe I’ve been listening to this song since I was 12,” I thought. And I’m 37 now. This song is for sure one of my top 3 favorites. The other 2 songs are “Never Gonna Let You Go” by Faith Evans, and “Spend My Life With You” by Eric Benet and Tamia Washington (which I also listened to shortly after). Now I’ve heard a lot of good songs out there but these three right are my heavy favorites and no matter how old I get, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of putting these tracks on repeat. I guess some things just really do last.

But…something else happened while I was listening to these songs earlier. I had my phone on my desk and headset on my ears, and there’s a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus also placed on my table. There’s this…movement that took place in my heart. I believe it was Jesus speaking to me through these songs I’ve grown to love. It was like He was telling me Himself:

“I think of you 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week. I want to spend my life with you. And I’m never ever gonna let you go.”

Tears of inexplicable joy started to fall from my eyes…Right at that moment, I felt…safe…secure. I felt…at peace. Just to give you a little bit of a backstory, last year was pretty tough for me in all aspects of my life. Whether it was mental, physical, spiritual, emotional, relational or financial, everything was just pretty messy. It was as if God had taken His grace away from me. The very thing that really shocked me was the spiritual part–it was brutal.

Here’s a simple example: last year was the very first time in my life that I just felt too lazy to attend a Sunday Mass, seriously. Now, this is surprising considering that I had actually been a daily Mass-goer before. And even when I wasn’t a seriously-practicing Catholic about 20 years ago, I would be sure to keep my Sunday obligation. Maybe I’ll expound a little more about how last year has been in another blog post but the point is, it was just filled with desolation. I don’t know if it was the “Dark Night” as I’m no saint, but I just saw it as a God-permitted period of intense trial in my life.

I didn’t really exactly know what was happening because I was just so confused; it was really more than I could handle. But I just kept on trusting God. I would just always remind myself of one of my go-to-quotes from the Bible, “And we know that for those who love God, all things work for the good, for those who are called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28).”

So when Jesus made His way to make me feel His presence this morning, my spirit was just elated! It was His way of reassuring me of what I’ve always known at the very depth of my soul, that He knows me, sees me, and loves me no matter what! That truly…I am His! In that seemingly ordinary moment, God claimed me and said to me, “You are Mine forever, that will never change.”