Any number of distractions and obstacles can disrupt a burgeoning or even a regular prayer practice, beginning with the typical challenges of establishing a new habit – finding time, finding a place, adjusting to different lifestyle – and continuing with everything from perceived “lack of results” to major life events. When such disruptions inevitably arise, we must resist the temptation to frustration and instead cultivate an awareness of them as opportunities, rather than setbacks. Begin by understanding that God is present in that person or event that is “pulling you away” from prayer time. The purpose of a dedicated prayer period is to learn to be welcoming and detached in order to be free to discern God in each moment, and this so-called distraction provides an opportunity to practice that real freedom. The same can be said even of the interior disruptions – the thoughts, feelings and sensations that can give a sense of a disjointed time of prayer, but through which Godself with teach us how to bring Divine Love into the ebbs and flows, the daily rhythms of life. And, for the many of us who, for one reason or another, find at some point in our lives that we have been away from practice for a length of time – days, weeks, months, or years – know that the invitation is always there to begin again, and never look upon time away as failure, but rather as part of the intricate journey of growth in holiness, and a chance to experience mercy!