By Lori Carmody
When life has
pushed hard on your body and soul, where do you go for grounding, restoration, and
rejuvenation? Many of us turn to prayer
- our daily practice, our refuge, our
last resort. And yet, if asked, who of
us would be able to define prayer and why have we come to rely on it? Do we pray in order to get what we want or in
hopes that prayer will change what we desire so that we are at peace with whatever
happens to be the outcome?
What if neither
of these are the goal of our prayer? What
if, instead, we pray because we have found that prayer changes us as we
engage in turning our stubborn will over to something larger than our
individual self. Perhaps we have found
that prayer helps us move from an “I” to “we” point of view and that wider
vantage point is attractive to us.
I love to pray
in the quiet of an adoration chapel. It
soothes my frazzled soul from the busyness of everyday life. However, when I find myself not grounded,
overly emotional, and in need of guidance to know what the next best thing is
for me to do, I head to Lake Kachess.
Dangling my feet in the cold, clear water and gazing on the tall trees
and rugged mountains allows me to let go of my need to control and enables my
thoughts to move from my small world of concerns to broader horizons. Somehow in that time at the lake my
selfishness diminishes and God’s beauty of creation grows so that once again in
my mind and heart – and especially my will - God is God and I am not. I am able to consecrate my whole being –
needy, sinful, fearful, loving, capable, my all – over to the One who is my
home beyond this home. I walk away
remembering that I am sustained in Grace and that I don’t walk alone –
ever! God is with me.
I also become
aware that God is with each of us – always! And we are all connected to one
another. It isn’t me/my/I. That illusion melts away and I re-awaken to
the collective "we" who are traveling together on this journey called life.
Where do you go
to be reminded of the grace of your holy purpose beyond the grind of everyday
life? Does your schedule allow you time
to occasionally be in that space – be it at the ocean, in the woods, on your
back porch, in your favorite rocking chair, soaking in a bathtub, …..? If
not, please remember that prayer is mysteriously transformative.
What
adjustments might you make to your schedule this week
so that you can be changed into the person God has intended you to be?
Today, as I sit
at the water’s edge writing this reflection, my prayer for you and for me is
that each of us may find places and times to connect deeply to the reality
beyond us. My hope is that we find
moments where we are “as close to God as
we can get” for surely from that place we will emerge changed by God’s
transforming Grace.
Please enjoy
the Eli Young Band’s new song, Saltwater Gospel. Although Lake Kachess isn’t saltwater, this
song touches on the holiness I feel at the water’s
edge.
Thanks for reading.
Lori
