This past Sunday, I arrived at Mass carrying more than I realized.

Actually, we arrived six or seven minutes late, which isn’t exactly the peaceful beginning to Mass that every Catholic parent dreams about. But my stress had started before we even left home.

My wife had given me some unexpected news about her student loans. She is a public school teacher and has been working toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness. We had expectations about how things would go, but the news we received didn’t match those expectations.

Immediately, my mind started calculating: money, bills, food, gas, and the future.

I had already allowed myself to become anxious at times this year over rising food and fuel prices. Now another financial uncertainty had been thrown into the mix, and my mind was tired.

I teach part-time, freelance as a writer, work part-time in sales for a Catholic comic book company, and run The Simple Catholic. With ADHD, ideas also tend to arrive faster than I can organize them.

Sometimes it feels like I am juggling a dozen balls at once while someone keeps tossing more into the air. Creativity is a gift, but without prayer and proper rest, even gifts can become exhausting.

I knew I needed God, but I didn’t expect how persistently He would remind me of His presence throughout that Mass.

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