When the Cravings Die?

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For Christmas, I received a basket with wine and chocolates. The wines were very good, but it was chocolate that I was craving. Each morsel was filled with cappuccino and that is my downfall. I love cappuccino. Think of some of your cravings that make you smile. 

Let me share a story about cravings that come from one of best-loved piece of poetry in the world, the 23rd Psalm. Of course, lots of people only hear it read at funerals. 

Now there's a lot more to this psalm than just a funeral ditty, because the 23rd Psalm is about life, and it shows how the Good Shepherd leads us through all the stages of life's journey. 

The first stage is the “green pastures” of childlike faith. The Lord is my shepherd, and I have everything I need. Green pasture means food and comfort. Still waters mean every thirst is quenched. Restored soul means good health: physical health, mental health, spiritual health. This is what we want our children to believe. This is what we teach them. Little prayers for mealtime: "Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest...." Little prayers for bedtime: "Now I lay me down to sleep...." The green pasture of childlike faith, where a child learns that when things go well it is because God is there! So far, so good. 

BUT, we all know that childlike faith cannot last. Every one of us, at some time, has to pass through the shadowy valley of adult anxiety. That childish faith no longer satisfies, and we ask, "Where is God when it hurts?" "Why doesn't God answer my prayer, when I need help so badly?" The shadowy valley of adult anxiety. 

Each of us has to leave the green pasture and walk the valley of shadow. But we don't have to walk it alone. God wants to walk it with us. The shepherd who protects us with a swinging rod. The shepherd with His guiding staff. The shepherd of comfort with a hand to hold. 

If the great truth of childlike faith is that good things happen because God is there, the great discovery of adult faith is that even when things go wrong, God is still there! 

And the image of the psalm changes from shepherd and sheep to a great banquet. Mature faith discovers that God is the surprising host who overwhelms us with grace. 

At the end of our journey, we discover ourselves the guests of honor at a great banquet. We can ask, what have I done to deserve this joy? But there isn't any answer to that question. The joy comes not from what we've done but from what our host is doing. 

I like this part of the psalm the best. Dwelling in the house of the Lord forever means a never-ending buffet, the mother of all potluck dinners, an all-you-can eat gourmet banquet. Chocolate filled with cappuccino and chocolate chip cookies without guilt. And not a lima bean in sight.

Childhood faith discovers that every good thing comes from God. Our adult anxieties are calmed when we discover that God is there even in the dark valleys. And as we near the end of our journey, we realize that all along it has been a love feast, a banquet in our honor, pure undeserved joy.

But anyone who has sat at the banquet table of God is outgrowing those cravings that make us doubt this love. What earthly chocolate chip cookie can compete with the food offered at the altar?  

How do you recognize the Good Shepherd's voice? When the cravings die away. When our need to be impatient, rude or unforgiving dissolves.The Lord is my shepherd, there isn't anything else I want! 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that they hear the voice of God calling them to this banquet. Help us with our anxieties. Listen! Do you hear a voice? I think we're being invited to the banquet.

From Darkness into Hope

I am debriefing a group of dedicated teachers who are struggling with the death of a student. This student teen had a complicated medical history and sadly surgery and treatment did not bring him back to their classroom. These passionate educators were disgusted and angry that the medical community had failed to bring their precious young person back into their care.

What is clear is that all of us have dark moments in our lives, times when we feel disappointment with God or even anger at him.

No doubt, we have times when we are challenged by struggles in our lives, when circumstances end up overturning our plans and perhaps even riding roughshod over our dreams.

Perhaps a conflict with someone has created an impenetrable wall between you and that person and you have no idea how to restore the relationship. Perhaps shame or guilt is crippling you or someone you love and the offer of grace seems no more real than a mirage. Perhaps simple loneliness is the ghost that haunts your days.

Perhaps illness stalks you or a loved one and effective treatments are elusive or nonexistent. Or perhaps death has brought an end to their suffering, but deepened your own.

In all those circumstances and many more, we may feel disappointed by a Savior who didn’t live up to our expectations. Admit it, you want Jesus to come and you want Him to come right now. You want clear helpful answers to your questions. You want to be relieved of the burden of waking up every day without knowing what you’re supposed to be doing next. You want to put your hand under the pillow and find the answer there like a quarter from the tooth fairy, but morning after morning all you feel is the empty sheet.

 

Deep down, we secretly hope that if we believe in Jesus, he will use his awe-inspiring, cosmos-shaping powers to make our lives easier. But instead, He calls for us to embrace the bitterness of life and live it more deeply. And instead of easing our suffering, He chose to walk through it with us and teach us how to transform our pain into gateways to healing for ourselves and others.

And so, in answer to the question how do we cope with dark moments that make no sense like, we have to say, He’s the one who opens our eyes and brings us sight when we’re blinded by suspicion, hatred, prejudice or greed.

Jesus is the one who lifts our feet to walk in service to others, to share from our wealth, to reach out in compassion.

Jesus is the one who frees us from our prisons of loneliness, grief and fear.

Jesus is the one who brings good news into our lives even when we doubt God’s presence in our lives. 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends this Christmas that as we look upon that baby born in the manger, we recognize that He is the Lord God incarnate, the hope of the world, the one who calls us friend, and as you gaze at the babe in the manager, remember He comes to bring us strength, courage and peace in our dark moments. Blessed Christmas, my friends.

Together Time Advent

I’m watching a commercial where the little girl looks out the window at the beautiful snow falling down, but her mom is busy on the computer, her dad is on the phone and her brother can't be distracted from his video game. She starts to walk dejectedly up the stairs to her room when she sees Tick and Tock -- two cats in her family's grandfather clock. She follows the cats to the clockmaker's shop who says there's "lost time," "time that flies" and "together time." She wishes she could get more of "together time" so the clockmaker sends her back with a card. She presents her parents with a card that promises that it's good for one hour of snowman building, and they smile as they go outside to make their memories. Chick-fil-A says that it can help give you and your family the gift of time. I have to admit that I did shed a tear at the end of this commercial. I wonder where that tear came from? Why did it strike such a sensitive spot?

Advent is about preparing ourselves-for a most important event—the coming of Christ—whose date we cannot know? None of us truly understands what it means that “the Son of Man will come,” nor can we pinpoint the day when his kingdom will be fully realized. There is no specific strategic action for us to take here. Rather, we are called to develop habits that will make us and keep us spiritually fit and ready. First among these is the habit of prayer. 

My electric toothbrush has a built-in two-minute timer that frees me to focus on the act of brushing rather than on the passage of time. We might adopt such a mechanism as we strive this Advent to prepare for Christ by deepening our prayer life.  The simple act of setting a smartphone or a kitchen timer to five minutes—or ten, or twenty—will allow us to be fully present as we pray.  Within the frame of those five minutes—or ten, or twenty—we can express regret, give thanks, ask a favor, pray for those we love. Instead of using this time of year to exhaust our credit card limits, Advent becomes a time to spend with Christ as we prepare our hearts for his coming by the daily practice of prayer.

What is prayer? Prayer doesn’t just happen when we kneel or put our hands together and focus and expect things from God. Thinking positive and wishing good for others is a prayer. When you hug a friend. That’s a prayer. When you cook something to nourish family and friends. That’s a prayer. When we send off our dear and near ones and say, ‘drive safely” or ‘be safe’. That’s a prayer. When you are helping someone in need by giving your time and energy. You are praying. When you forgive someone by your heart. That is prayer. Prayer is a vibration. A feeling. A thought. Prayer is the voice of love, friendship, genuine relationships. Prayer is an expression of your silent being.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that they set their timers to experience your love, affection and genuine desire to be our friend.

Here are some “Together Time” Advent ideas to celebrate the coming of Christ in serving others:

·      Shop for a gift and donate to a local charity.

·       Visit an elderly home and hand out homemade cookies.

·       Take a few small gifts to a shelter for women and children.

·       Write a letter to a family friend or some troops stationed overseas.

·       Drive to a store that has a Salvation Army bell ringer just to donate (without going into the store to buy anything!).

·       Buy a small gift for a child in the long-term care wing of the children’s ward, and bring a bouquet of flowers for his/her mother.

·       Serve a meal together as a family at a local homeless shelter.

·       Clean out your toy boxes and donate good quality items to an opportunity store.

·       Raid the pantry for canned goods to donate to a charity.

·       Take a plate of cookies and a homemade Christmas card to your  veterinarian or animal shelter, library, church, doctor or dentist office.

·       Anonymously pay for the Santa photos of the person behind you in line at the mall.

·       Wear Santa hats and take some doggie treats to your local shelter.

·       If you go to the woods to chop a Christmas tree, buy an extra tree and bring one home for a neighbor who may not have the resources to get their own.

·       Wear Santa hats and take a garbage bag to clean up garbage from your neighborhood.

Thanksgiving Prayer for Your Family Table

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And on the 8th day, God looked down on his farms in North Java and said, "I need a caretaker." So God made a disciple of Holy Family.

God said, "I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, boil water, stir the sauce, prepare the meatballs, work all morning in the kitchen, mix the salad, bake the desserts, serve our neighbors with a smile for three hours and then run home to get more meatballs. So God made a disciple of Holy Family.”

God said, I need somebody to take down the leaky parish hall windows and replace them with new insulated panes to keep the chill out so our kids can learn in a warm classroom, the AA members can support one another, our seniors can enjoy their luncheon and social activities and our sewing ladies won’t freeze their fingers sewing blankets for newborn babies, kids in hospitals and seniors in nursing homes.

God said, I need somebody to take care of Clayton Park, so nineteen people bought memorial bricks. Then volunteers got down on their knees to ply out the old bricks and carefully insert the engraved stones with beautiful verses and memories of loved ones so that we can take care of anything that breaks and keep the playground safe for our children.

God said, "I need volunteers to teach our kids about God’s love. Moms and dads willing to get the kids ready for church and drive in stormy weather to bring their children to class. So God made a disciple of Holy Family. Because our kids can’t wait to see what their teachers have planned to teach them about God’s love for our little ones.

God said, I need people with faith and creativity, openness and welcoming smiles to work on various projects and many of you accepted the invitation but prefer NOT to be mentioned. So in my quiet way, let me say thank you for your donations for our new insulated windows in the parish hall, flowers for Christmas and Easter, buying winter coats for the poor, getting gifts for children during Advent, cleaning the bathrooms, cutting the grass, planting flowers, plowing the snow, remodeling the rectory into a hospice, planting flowers around our parish, bidding on a pig at the County Fair to feed the hungry through the winter, organizing the Spaghetti Dinner, serving on the Parish Committee, balancing the books, donating religious education supplies, practicing with our kids for their nativity pageant, writing our bulletin, training our altar servers, lectoring at Mass, taking up the collection, increasing your weekly donation, and singing in our choir leading us in praise of God for His goodness and kindness to our farms and homes.

God said, all are welcomed at my table, the divorce and separated, the proud and the humble, the self-righteous and imperfect, the hypocrite and the gossip, the fearful and abused to bale a family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh and then sigh, and then reply, with smiling eyes, the people of Holy Family will welcome your family, your children and your soul with peace and good will. So God made a disciple of Holy Family.

Last Sunday, all our parishioners were invited to a gourmet breakfast. It’s my thank you for their daily sacrifices, their generosity and their many acts of kindness that each person brings to this community. Make no mistake, they deserve all the credit for growth of this dynamic Catholic parish.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends and humbly pray in thanksgiving for serving as shepherd of this parish. Please feel free to use the following Thanksgiving Prayer for your Family.

"Lord, We feel so blessed to have been given such a wonderful family.
We ask that our roots would be deep in your love. Fill our hearts, friendships and homes with your truth and forgiveness. We thank you for each person, for their unique qualities and special gifts. Watch over each one and keep them safe, Fill their lives with your goodness, Inspire their hearts to follow you, Bless the work of their hands, And weave us all closer together."

Open to New Possibilities

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in taking photos I am always searching for the moment that best reflects a sacred moment.

About a month ago, a friend forwarded an email on Friday afternoon asking if I would be willing to take pictures at his son’s wedding reception on Saturday.

I replied that I am not a professional wedding photographer. His response was “you’re better than you think.” It seems his son forget to hire a photographer for the reception so I was his backup. Well, I’m not afraid to tackle another vocation at this stage in my life so I reached out to a real professional wedding photographer who shared his experience with some practical tips on the web. The website made a list of what a wedding photographer needs to shoot at a wedding like when the bride throws the bouquet, or when the bride dances with her dad. I got to review the photos that he took at previous weddings and made my notes. When the guests arrived, no one knew my cover since I was dressed casual, so I just walked around the hall snapping away and looked for “sacred moments” when family and friends were greeting one another.

During the reception I noticed five young men all sitting together at a table. I asked the father of the groom what’s up with these guys. He shared that they were his son’s best buddies when they were 10 years old. He remembered they use to pile into his kitchen on a Saturday morning and he make them French toast. Now they all live and work around the country and yet they traveled to share the joy of their old buddy’s new vocation.

I only took 150 shots, a wedding pro takes 4,000. I edited my best 10 images and forwarded to this dad. The image he liked the best was his son smiling with his old buddies around the table. I was embarrassed when this dad’s response after he looked at the photos was that they were better than the wedding pictures. 

  

I feel blessed that my primary vocation has been a spouse to my beloved Sue and to serve as shepherd at Holy Family. However, I am approaching another milestone that offers the possibilities of embracing other vocations.

Some of my Sonshine Friends have offered their encouragement and suggestions that include: mentoring young people for ministry, a forest ranger working with professors to teach college students the physical sciences, photography ambassador for visitors to national parks, and a baker of artisan breads.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that we are open to Your possibilities, Fill us with Your wisdom, grace and courage to step out of our self-imposed limitations and live in your possibilities.

Finding Faith and Freedom in the God Who Loves Us

 

This could be a college student, a soldier returned from deployment or you. The person was battling mental depression and he was on a bunch of different medications. But that fall morning, nothing seemed right; something very terribly wrong was happening. The voices in his head seemed louder and stronger to him, convincing him that he had to take his own life. So he kissed his father on the cheek, got on a local bus and headed to the bridge with his plans to end it all.

As he sat on the bus – he was crying. He promised himself that if anyone asked him what was wrong, he would not go through with it. The entire bus ride, no one did. So he got to the bridge, walked to the midway point where he stood, staring down for over 40 minutes. Out of nowhere, this woman approached him… he turned as she asked “can you take my picture?” He took 5 snapshots with the camera she handed to him, and gave the camera back to her, as tears continued to stream down his face. At which point she turned and walked away. With that, he took a few steps back, rushed the railing and threw himself over.

This nameless tourist got her picture, got what she needed or wanted and couldn’t be bothered to simply ask “are you okay?” All that would have prevented him from making this leap was someone reaching out to ask him “what was the matter?” – more importantly to say to him that “he mattered.” Because at that low point of his life, he was so isolated, he was so hopeless and didn’t believe that to be the case.

How many people around us suffer from hopelessness? How many people do we know feel hopeless? How many of us do? Statistics, reports, stories all over the place telling of skyrocketing suicide rates, deaths from drug and alcohol abuse all point to a seeming epidemic of hopelessness for our world. So what is the reason for this epidemic of hopelessness?

Many experts point to the rise in smartphones and social media which has resulted in far less inter-personal relationships and authentic friendships. But I can’t help but think that another factor has been a greater number of people who claim not to be Christian anymore, claim that they have no faith.

Too many people have not heard that they have a God who loves them. A Heavenly Father who loved them into existence – who sustains them each and every moment of each and every moment. A Father who sent His son, Jesus here among us so that God would have a face and a name that we can approach, can know, can touch – can get so intimately close that we receive His very Body and Blood in the Eucharist.

Too many don’t know that… Don’t know Him. Too many people like that young college student or our returning soldiers don’t think, don’t feel, don’t believe that they matter. Are hopeless.

In the Gospel, Zacchaeus, was the ultimate outcast. As the chief tax collector he’s the epitome of a traitor: He’s working with the enemy – the Romans who’ve occupied his fellow Jews, collecting taxes from them – then charging them extra for himself. So to put it mildly, Zacchaeus’ fellow Jews would not be fans of his. The Romans, meanwhile – they’re happy to use the guy – he’s getting the job done – – – but he’s not one of them – he’s not a Roman – so it’s not like he’s getting invited to any of their dinner parties.

Something deep within Zaccheus calls him to open his heart, to look for something, someone to restore his Hope to tell Him that he matters that anyone would care about him. He’s got nothing to lose at this point -climbing a tree – thinking perhaps he will hear or see something that will do something, anything for him.

The Gospel story says, “Jesus looked up…”. What does Jesus see? He sees the loneliness, the brokenness of the man in the tree. He sees the lengths Zacchaeus went through just to see Him. He sees Zacchaeus in all humility looking for hope…. looking for Jesus. Jesus says Zacchaeus, come down quickly for today I must stay at your house.

Zacchaeus is being offered a radical new life. He wasn’t being seen through the lens of others in the crowd: a traitor, or some puppet of Rome. Jesus looked at him with love that made all the difference. It restored his Hope.

Yes, we see a lot of hopelessness in the world around us. Maybe we even suppress those types of thoughts and feelings within ourselves: When we struggle at work, when there’s difficulties at home, when illness and death hit our loved ones – and we feel like no one knows, no one understands after we return from deployment, no one is listening…

The beauty of our faith in Jesus Christ – is that we know that is not true. We have a God who loves us – and we don’t have to give into the lies that others say about us, or that we tell ourselves. Lies that were not good enough, holy enough, worthy enough to be in Jesus presence.

The reality is Jesus is searching for us, wanting to gaze on us with His eyes to tell us we do matter, that we are loved.   Despite how trapped we might think we are by the poor decisions we’ve made, despite the prisons we find ourselves confined to because of whatever mistakes we keep letting define us and weigh us down, Jesus offers us true freedom when we lift our downcast eyes to look to Him. 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that the story of Zacchaeus may prompt in us a desire to let Jesus enter in. To make us humble and let Jesus look at us as we are. To make us courageous and to let His look of Love transform our lives that testify to the world of the true Hope that is found in being loved by Jesus.

While suicide remains a rare event among U.S. troops, 325 active-duty members died by suicide in 2018, the highest number since the Defense Department began collecting the data in 2001 and exceeding a record set in 2012.

If you or someone you know needs help, the Veterans Crisis Hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 800-273-8255, press 1. Services also are available online at www.veteranscrisisline.net or by text, 838255.

What We See in Otrhers

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The thing that bothers you most about other people is actually the thing that bothers you most about yourself.

I can't remember when I first heard that, but I can remember how it felt to have my soul split open, my life diagnosed, and my weakness exposed when I heard it. Suddenly, the names and faces of the people who had frustrated me most over the years came flooding back as I realized that the part of them that hooked me was me. I'll save the content of that revelation for the sacrament of reconciliation, but I trust that you can identify in your own experience the ways in which your frustrations in others are a reflection of your frustrations in yourself.

This Sunday, when we hear the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee (Luke 18:9-14), we get several layers of gut-wrenching self-examination sandwiched together in a remarkably concise account.

First, there's the Pharisee in the story: "God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income." What an ass! Jesus identifies him in terms that leave no room for sympathy. The parable sets up an incompatible collision of pretending to be holy and arrogance. Because of the way he looks at the tax collector, you don't need to know anything more to understand that the Pharisee's piety is an illusion.

But there's also another character in the story, whom Luke brings in right at the beginning: "Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt." It's us. Or, at least, in theory it's us. Whoever is listening, whoever needs to hear this parable, whoever hears the parable and thinks, "What an ass!" is involved in the parable, too. We get hooked by the Pharisee's hypocrisy because we, too, are hypocrites.

Think about the parable. It isn't designed to teach us that we shouldn't say prayers like that of the Pharisee. And it isn't designed to teach us that praying, fasting, and tithing are futile. It's designed to draw us into the life of the tax collector--the humble, honest introspection that leads to a plea for mercy. And we can't get there as long as we're pointing fingers at other hypocrites.

Maybe I'm the only one who effortlessly points a finger at the Pharisee and says, "Thank God I'm not like that Pharisee who thinks so highly of himself and holds others in contempt." But I doubt it.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that we learn to be more humble. Words that cause anger, violence, or sharp criticism have a negative effect. Our expression of humility needs to convey gentleness and compassion.

Foolish Mercy

Sue gets a call from our neighbor Maggie who is crying on the phone. It seems one of her cats, Surprise is dying. Sue observes that Surprise was rangy and ribbed and barely moving. Maggie says that Surprise has not eaten. The vet clinic is full and they make an appointment for the following day. Surprise is in her ninth year and she stopped maintaining her weight. Her soft coat started to thin; her bright eyes to dim. In desperation, Maggie tried to feed her, but she wanted nothing.

The following morning when Sue arrives to take Surprise and Maggie along to the vet, she learned that Surprise had died overnight. That night before she died, Maggie lay beside her on the floor, stroking her soft fur, whispering in her ear, “Do you hurt, Surprise? Are you sad? What do you need? Please tell me.” Surprise was silent. She cried.

We can be forgiven for failing to recognize the pain of another when they can neither recognize nor speak their own sadness. But there is no forgiving us when we choose not to hear, when we turn away from another’s pain.

Luke tells a story about a persistent widow who pesters a judge day and night, but the judge refuses to hear her pain, refuses to acknowledge her request, pretends she doesn’t exist.

Luke doesn’t reveal the specifics of her complaint, only that she has been treated unjustly. Kudos to the widow for her persistence, but what, exactly, was the injustice?

Perhaps her son has been wrongly imprisoned or maybe she herself has suffered age discrimination. It might be that her brother is being detained at the border or her deceased husband’s lawyer is dragging his heels in settling the estate. Perhaps she has been driven into bankruptcy by exorbitant medical bills.

Injustice comes with so many alibis and aliases. We want to look in her eyes and ask, “Do you hurt? What do you need?” But both she and Luke remain silent. Why does Jesus teach this lesson? Are we to pester God with our needs, as the widow pesters the justice? Is the goal of our prayers to receive compensation for injustice, or simply to wear out an exasperated God? I’m not comfortable with any of those interpretations.

So what is the greatest injustice? That the woman was mistreated? That the justice is slow to respond to her claims? Or that, ultimately, he acts with mercy, regardless of the merits of her case? Without reviewing her claims, the justice grants her request. Is it merely justice that she receives, or an even greater gift?

Perhaps Luke is hinting that Jesus is also unjust, because Jesus hears the prayers of righteous and unrighteous alike. Perhaps Luke is implying that Jesus’ justice is based not on the merits of the case but on his inexplicable love and mercy for sinners. Is it just to forgive sinners who will sin again, to feed those who will hunger again, to heal those who will be sick again, to bring back to life those who will overdose again, to raise those who will die again? In some quarters, Jesus’ kindnesses would be deemed not only unjust, but foolish.

At the end of the parable, Jesus promises that all who cry will be heard, all in need will be helped. Jesus promises that justice—Jesus’ justice—will be served without delay.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who are hurting and no one hears their cry. Finally, like the persistent widow, Surprise was held in loving arms before she died. She received the justice of a gentle, peaceful death. Finally, Jesus is that unjust justice—delivering kindness and mercy to all who cry out, regardless of the merits of our case.

Pray When You Are Feeling Snotty

“I’m having a snotty day” was the comment of the teacher to her classroom aides. She was heartbroken when she learned that one of her students had died in the hospital. The response of her teammates was “we better watch out.” 

However, I think her honesty has a profound insight on why most of us find it difficult to pray. We want to pray, make resolutions to pray, but never quite get around to actually praying. Why?

It’s not so much that we are insincere, ill-motivated, or lazy, it’s just that invariably we are too tired, too distracted, too restless, too emotionally preoccupied, too angry, too busy, or feel ourselves too distant from God to feel that we can actually pray. We have too many headaches and too many heartaches. And so we come home after a long day and simply can’t work up the energy to pray and instead call a friend, watch television, rest, putter round the house, or do anything to soothe our tiredness and wind down from the pressures of life, except pray.

How can we pray when both our bodies and our hearts are chronically stressed and on over-load?

By understanding what prayer really is. Prayer, as one of its oldest definitions puts it, is “lifting mind and heart to God.” 

That sounds simple but it is hard to do. Why?

Because we have the wrong notion of what it means to pray. We unconsciously nurse the idea that we can only pray when we are not distracted, not bored, not angry, and not caught up in our many heartaches and headaches so that we can give proper attention to God in a reverent and loving way. God then is like a parent who only wants to see us on our best behavior and we only go into his presence when we have nothing to hide, are joy-filled, and can give God praise and honor. Because we don’t understand what prayer is, we treat God as an authority figure or a visiting dignitary, namely, as someone to whom we don’t tell the real truth. We don’t tell the “our boss” what is really going on in our lives but what should, ideally, be going on in them. We tell God what we think he wants to hear.

Because of this we find it difficult to pray with any regularity. What happens is: we go to pray, privately or in church, and we enter into that feeling tired, bored, preoccupied, perhaps even angry at someone. We come to prayer carrying heartaches and headaches of all kinds and we try to bracket what we are actually feeling and instead crank up praise, reverence, and gratitude to God. Of course it doesn’t work! Our hearts and heads grow distracted because they are preoccupied with something else, our real issues, and we get the sense that what we are doing—trying to pray—is not something we can do right now and we leave it for some other time.

If we take seriously that prayer is “lifting mind and heart to God” then every feeling and every thought we have is a valid invitation into prayer, no matter how irreverent, unholy, selfish, snotty or angry that thought or feeling might seem. Simply put, if you go to pray and you are feeling snotty, pray snotty, bored, pray boredom; if you are feeling angry, pray anger; and if you want to praise and thank God, pray gratitude. What’s important is that we pray what’s inside of us and not what we think God would like to find inside of us.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who are feeling “snotty” about some headaches or heartache and we really need your comfort and healing. Help us to be more honest like that teacher and come to you in prayer when we are feeling bad, irreverent, sinful, emotionally, and unworthy of praying. All of these feelings can be our entry into prayer. No matter the headache or the heartache, we only need to lift it up to God.