We all need some time for private reflection and introspection; without it, we lose perspective and focus in our lives. Without some occasional deep thinking about our values and our place in the universe, we lack direction and a sense of purpose.

Pondering gives us an opportunity to sort things out, to set aside the unimportant and seek a connection with something eternal—even with God Himself. Indeed, the most meaningful pondering includes prayer, which Ralph Waldo Emerson defined as “the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view.”

Pondering is spiritual and mental exercise that elevates our thoughts from the trivial to the vital, from the mundane to the divine. Then when the time comes, as it always does, to return to our daily tasks, we do so with renewed focus, purpose, and energy. And we find that our brief, sacred moment of deep and humble pondering was indeed time well spent. …Lloyd Newel