At the Beginning of a New Year

It is the beginning of a new year and, I hope, the beginning of a regular discipline of reflecting on and writing down what monastic life means for me here, immersed as I am in home, family, and work.  Today as I prepared to get back to all the teaching, writing, and service commitments I had, it felt like all the pressure of a ton of bricks was about to fall on me.  So many details!  So much to do.  Even though it is all wonderful work, there is just so much.  The time I took apart to seek quiet, pray and write this brief post has been truly a blessing.  How, I ask God and myself, do I get more of this?  The best I can tell is that it will take a commitment, a discipline to relentlessly prioritize prayer, reflection, and writing.  It has become clear to me that the time will not magically appear somehow.  Even to do this I had to force myself to put aside something to take just 15 minutes to pray and write.  It is just amazing to me that I begrudge God and myself a simple 15 minutes a couple times a day.  Please help me Lord to do this.  I increasingly feel that I cannot live fully or well without making this commitment.