It's the morning...it's time to get out of bed. You get yourself moving and make your way to the kitchen when you realize you smell coffee. You're about to grab the nearest item and use it as a weapon when a thought pops into your mind.
"Jesus...is that you?"
"Sure is! And please put the weapon down."
You shuffle into the kitchen and Jesus hands you your favorite mug with coffee just the way you like it. "Hey, thanks, Jesus!"
"I'm here for you." Jesus sits down at the kitchen table and takes a sip from a mug.
"Uh, Jesus...you drink coffee?"
"No, actually it's tea."
"I don't think I have tea..."
"You don't. I brought some along."
You sit down opposite Jesus. Deeply inhale the aroma of the coffee and take a sip.
"This is really good coffee! Thanks again. So, what do you need?"
"I just want to talk."
"That's what you said last week. I did as you suggested and I took on something more challenging for Lent."
"I know you did. The first day or so you were doing great. We talked a lot. The last couple days haven't been so great."
You hang your head. "I know. I messed up yesterday and the day before."
"I'm not here about you messing up."
"You're not?"
"No, I'm here to talk to you about how to get through it."
"So, I'm not in trouble?"
"No."
"What do I need to do?"
"You need to pray."
"I have prayed."
"You have prayed at me. Try to think of prayer as a normal conversation. You talk and then you listen so that I can talk. Just like what we're doing here."
"But...you don't say anything when I pray."
"You make the Sign of the Cross and you're off doing something before I get a chance to talk. Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Have you ever been with someone and the conversation lulls and the two of you are so comfortable you just sit there in silence? And, it's not a weird kind of silence. It's peaceful, calm."
"Yeah, my best friend and I are like that. In fact, it happens all the time."
Jesus looks at you intently across the table. "I want to be your best friend. I want you to talk to me, bring me all your worries, cares, joys, sorrows, everything. I want us to be so comfortable together the conversation will naturally move into silence and we enjoy hanging out together."
"So, you're telling me I need to hang with you."
"Yes. You can call it hanging out; I'll call it prayer."
"Ok...can I ask a question?"
"Absolutely." Jesus says.
"How long do I need to pray?"
"There is no set time limit...but five to ten minutes of us hanging out each day would be nice. How else are we going to become best friends if you don't spend time with me...and listen to me? So, the next time you're struggling or something great has happened, just talk to me."
"Got it." You stand up to get more coffee and turn to ask Jesus if he'd like more tea. He's gone. "How does he do that?"
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