I’m going to tell you something that might surprise you coming from me. There are mornings I don’t feel like praying. There. I said it! If you’ve read this column for any length of time, you know that my faith is the foundation of everything. My family, my home, my work, the way I try to show up in this community. God is not an afterthought in my life. He is the whole story! So, when I tell you there are days I sit down to pray and feel absolutely nothing, no words, no warmth, just a kind of hollow quiet? I want you to know I’m not saying it lightly.

I’m saying it because I think you’ve been there too. And I think nobody talks about it enough. We talk about answered prayers. We talk about mountaintop moments and scriptures that hit you right in the chest at exactly the right time. And those things are real. I’ve lived them, and I’m grateful for every single one. But what about the quiet seasons? The seasons where prayer feels like leaving a voicemail you’re not sure anyone is listening to? The mornings when you bow your head and the only honest thing you can say is, “I don’t even know what to say right now?” (It’s rare for me, but it does happen.)

For a long time, I carried a quiet shame about those seasons. I felt like a good Christian woman shouldn’t feel that way. Like if my faith were strong enough, the words would always come easily. But here’s what I’ve learned, and it took me a while to really settle into this. God is not intimidated by my emptiness. He’s not disappointed when I show up with nothing. He’s just glad I showed up!

Like when we pray at night and fall asleep in the middle of praying, you know God loves this because we felt comfort praying with him as we coasted off to sleep, just like a child falling asleep in their parents’ arms. It reflects trust and comfort.

There’s something I do every Wednesday that I’ve come to call my Worship Walk Wednesdays. I put on Christian music that moves me. Songs that remind me who he is, even when I can’t quite feel it, and I walk. I let the music do what my words sometimes can’t. Some mornings I’m singing along, and my heart is so full I could burst!! And other mornings, I’m just walking and just breathing and just being present in the quiet and trusting that he meets me there too.

That’s what I’ve learned about prayer over the years. It’s not always a conversation. Sometimes it’s just proximity. Just choosing to stay close even when you feel far away. The letters of Paul are full of this, by the way. I just got done reading the chapters of Ephesians, Colossians, and Philippians. I’m learning more about Paul each week. A man who was shipwrecked, imprisoned, beaten, and still called to keep going! His faith was amazing! He wrote in 2 Corinthians about pleading with God three times to take away a burden he was carrying. Three times!!! That’s not a polished, confident prayer. That’s an exhausted man on his knees, being completely honest with God about what he couldn’t carry anymore. And God didn’t turn away from Paul in that moment. He met him right there and said, “My grace is sufficient for you.” That’s the kind of God we serve. So if you’re in one of those stretches right now, if prayer has started to feel like a chore or a performance or something you keep meaning to get back to.

I just want you to hear this:

You don’t have to have it together to come to Him. You don’t need the right words. You don’t need to feel it to mean it.

Sometimes the most faithful thing you can do is just show up, walk out the door, put on a song, sit in the quiet, and trust that he sees you right where you are.

That’s always been enough for me. I have a feeling it’ll be enough for you, too.

Until next week, keep the faith, even on the quiet days.

Garlic Herb & Wine Chicken

This is one of my favorite ways to make chicken.

I can’t even really call it a recipe, since it’s from a store-bought packet. But when I say how good it is, I mean it! The key to this is to let it marinate for at least 8 hours. The longer, the better. Either marinade it before you go to bed or do it as soon as you get up in the morning.

The flavor is incredible! We love slow-cooking it on our Blackstone, but I have also baked it in the oven. I’m going to give you the full version of how I do it, so you can freeze it and have two meals. I’ve been doing it this way for years.

One Wegmans Family Pack of boneless skinless chicken pack

2 packs of McCormick’s Grill Mates – Garlic Herb and Wine flavor packet

Clean and cut the chicken into strips. Place in a large bowl.

Follow the directions on the back of the packet and pour onto your prepped chicken.

Mix well to ensure everything is well covered.

I typically give it another good stir about halfway through marinating.

Cook or bake until cooked thoroughly.

I love pairing this with a hot creamy pasta in the winter and a cold pasta salad in the summer.

*To freeze: Once marinaded, place ½ the chicken in a freezer bag.

Then, when you need a meal, pull it out and thaw it!

It’s wonderful to have bags of these on hand.