Dear Allison,

Fortunately, it is not as difficult as it might seem to keep God at the center, because it is a gift that he himself wants to give us.

I would put what you can do in this way: choose what you are going to do, and do it out of love.

First, choose. If our life seems chaotic at times, it is because of the number of things we have to do or the way we do them. Life seems to sweep us along, rather than something we live and control. Sure, there is much we don't and cannot control, but there is also much we can. Choose your priorities. If you want to place God at the center, one of your priorities is going to be to carve out time for him alone: time to go to Mass besides Sundays, time to pray when you get up, time to say a decade of the Rosary or more, time to read useful things. Recreational and fun things should always be part of our lives as well, but not to the degree that we neglect the important things: our duties as students, duties in the home, what our conscience tells us we should do.

Second, do all things out of love. Some people think there is only one way to speak to God and that is by saying prayers. Not true. You can tell God you love him by developing your talents. You can tell him you love him by helping out your neighbor, being a good influence on others, serving him in others, enjoying the good things he gave us in life and thanking him for them, accepting suffering and disappointments when they come... In the morning and now and again during the day simply tell him that all you do is for him, and then do it as best you can because you want to give him only the best. Our day very easily becomes a "conversation" with him and, in this way, you will find yourself trying to avoid what would hurt him and spontaneously offering up small sacrifices for souls.

God bless.