As many of us are doing these days, I’m trying to reach out, to keep the people I love close to me. I recently wrote to my dear friends Epi and Joan. They responded with news both good and bad—the joy of a new grandchild, the pain of a family member lost to COVID.
Joan shared this story with me, and I wanted to pass it on to you. I found it both comforting and thoughtful.
“Last fall, there was a severe wind storm at night. I was up praying and wondering if it was going to turn into a tornado. Then it came to me that at least two neighbors, Ernestine and Lil, were also up and praying. I thought of them as points of prayer—the three of us making a triangle. Then I thought there were surely others praying, changing the triangle into some sort of polygon. This gave me great comfort. Now, as I pray for our nation, I think of you as another prayer point. Let's keep adding and stretching this prayer shape.”
We are all in this together—pandemic, political unrest, hopes and fears for the future. Yes, come what may, we are in this together, stretching this prayer shape, finding in prayer the strength to act and the discernment to know how to act; finding in prayer the perseverance to carry on, the wisdom to do right, and the softened hearts to love one another.
And may our prayers lead to peace—in our consciences, our homes, our nation, and our world.
An intricate web holds the shape of prayer. Photo by Mary Weems.