An actual benediction
As I roamed the halls of the retirement community where my parents live, I heard a comment that one could only hear in such a place--"Hope you have a good day! Don't fall!"
Kids fall all the time. At the playground outside my study at church, there are daily cries and shouts from children who fell off the swings or the monkey bars or just flat fell down walking. Tears come, moms and dads jump into action, and then in about twenty seconds, everyone is back running and screaming around all the stations. Teenagers fall, sometimes to their utter mortification--you know, HE was watching, and my feet, like, looped together, and, like, my lunch tray flew into the air, and it, like, landed on the gym teacher, and I fell flat on my rear, right there in front of everybody--and HE saw me. Oh, how could I be such a loser! But then the next day HE trips getting out of his truck in the parking lot, and all is back in balance.
But old folks--old folks fall and sometimes they don't get up.
A fall for a person of a certain age can literally alter life itself. A man falls over a footstool, landing awkwardly, breaking a hip, and the world shifts. Suddenly, independence is a remembered thing. The body never comes fully back. New equipment becomes part of the daily order just to get from here to there. In some cases, he begins a steady decline. Not being as active leads to long spells of being alone. Energy and interest wane as he can no longer fully participate in things once enjoyed completely. Trying to get used to a walker can lead to new falls. Another awkward landing might re-break the mended hip or break the other hip or something else, leading into another loss of ability, strength, and action. A broken hip can be the event that brings the onset of life's end.
So, one lady bids another farewell--"Have a good day! Don't fall!"
That becomes a prayer akin to Psalm 121, a prayer for help and relief from unseen terrors hidden on the road home. Someone else might try to say the same thing with a simple, "Be safe!," but I believe the residents were being far more existential in their words. They know the score, and they know what is really and truly frightening. So, by all means, Dear Lord, keep us upright!
Would that we were all so honest and open in our prayers.
We pray by rote. We pray mindlessly. We pray because we are supposed to. We mutter a quick grace before meals, no thought at all about what we say, just get it done, then eat. We tune out during the Lord's Prayer--our lips know what to say.
But prayer is so useful. It awakens us. It brings life in the world into sharp focus. What do I really need? An old woman prays--I need not to fall--lest all her fears come to roost. What do you need that badly and that truly?
Praying with such clarity and purpose also brings God's eternal presence into view. God is always with us, but we are not always with God. Direct, honest prayer brings us fully into God's presence. "This is who I am, right here, right now. This is how I am, right here, right now. This is what I am, right here, right now." It need not be elaborate or elegant--"Don't fall!"--two words, no doubt at all about anything in it.
This is mindful prayer, spoken by someone fully engaged in their life.
Try it. See what happens.
Kids fall all the time. At the playground outside my study at church, there are daily cries and shouts from children who fell off the swings or the monkey bars or just flat fell down walking. Tears come, moms and dads jump into action, and then in about twenty seconds, everyone is back running and screaming around all the stations. Teenagers fall, sometimes to their utter mortification--you know, HE was watching, and my feet, like, looped together, and, like, my lunch tray flew into the air, and it, like, landed on the gym teacher, and I fell flat on my rear, right there in front of everybody--and HE saw me. Oh, how could I be such a loser! But then the next day HE trips getting out of his truck in the parking lot, and all is back in balance.
But old folks--old folks fall and sometimes they don't get up.
A fall for a person of a certain age can literally alter life itself. A man falls over a footstool, landing awkwardly, breaking a hip, and the world shifts. Suddenly, independence is a remembered thing. The body never comes fully back. New equipment becomes part of the daily order just to get from here to there. In some cases, he begins a steady decline. Not being as active leads to long spells of being alone. Energy and interest wane as he can no longer fully participate in things once enjoyed completely. Trying to get used to a walker can lead to new falls. Another awkward landing might re-break the mended hip or break the other hip or something else, leading into another loss of ability, strength, and action. A broken hip can be the event that brings the onset of life's end.
So, one lady bids another farewell--"Have a good day! Don't fall!"
That becomes a prayer akin to Psalm 121, a prayer for help and relief from unseen terrors hidden on the road home. Someone else might try to say the same thing with a simple, "Be safe!," but I believe the residents were being far more existential in their words. They know the score, and they know what is really and truly frightening. So, by all means, Dear Lord, keep us upright!
Would that we were all so honest and open in our prayers.
We pray by rote. We pray mindlessly. We pray because we are supposed to. We mutter a quick grace before meals, no thought at all about what we say, just get it done, then eat. We tune out during the Lord's Prayer--our lips know what to say.
But prayer is so useful. It awakens us. It brings life in the world into sharp focus. What do I really need? An old woman prays--I need not to fall--lest all her fears come to roost. What do you need that badly and that truly?
Praying with such clarity and purpose also brings God's eternal presence into view. God is always with us, but we are not always with God. Direct, honest prayer brings us fully into God's presence. "This is who I am, right here, right now. This is how I am, right here, right now. This is what I am, right here, right now." It need not be elaborate or elegant--"Don't fall!"--two words, no doubt at all about anything in it.
This is mindful prayer, spoken by someone fully engaged in their life.
Try it. See what happens.
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