Conversations, Prayer and Connections

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  Marcello Casal Jr./Agência Brasil via Wikimedia Commons

 
As I was searching for a topic for my post this morning, I happened on the transcript of a conversation I had had with my oldest granddaughter, Addie, when she was not quite three. (She is now 13!) The conversation is simple, yet, speaks volumes!

"Hi, Nanaaaaa!"
 
"Hi, Sweetheart! How's my girl?" 
 
"Gooooooood!" 
 
"Did you have fun today." (Dead silence, but the sound of movement. Prompted by my daughter, Addie finally answers.)
 
"Yes, I made a snowman with two eyes and a nose." 
 
"How wonderful!"
 
"I love you, Nana!"
 
"I love you, too, sweetie!"
 
"Ok, later gater, drive safe, go slow, careful, don't fall down. (kiss, kiss) Momma, it's your Mom!"

Ten years later, I can talk to my youngest granddaughter, Ellie, who is about the same age as her cousin was all those years ago, via Skype.  Our conversations are equally as endearing and, when viewed with the lens of wisdom-gained, quite telling. 

"Nani-Nana, there you are!"

"Hi, Buttercup! What have you been doing?"

"Hmmm...I went to the park. I read a book. Do you want to see my book?" (She runs off camera to get her book. Lifting it up in front of the camera, I see it is one that I gave her.)

"Oh, that's your Buttercup book."

"I read it to you, OK, Nana?"

"OK, Ellie." (She then reads by heart the entire book, barely skipping a word!)

 "The End! Now, I get you some money. I love you, Nana!!" (At this point, she closes the books, kisses and hugs the computer and disappears to her room while her Mom and I chat, returning after a few minutes with her purse to hand me invisible money through the computer so I can go shopping.)

How does this bring us to prayer? Firstly, prayer is conversation with the Divine. "Dear God, thank you for your gifts."  "Dear Great Spirit, help me through this crisis." We "talk" to the Divine sometimes silently, often aloud. 

In my conversations with my granddaughters, there was a sharing of love, a reporting of activities, and a display of concern, caring for the other. Prayer does the same thing - we share our love, our concerns, our requests for aid - in return, we look for signs that our prayers have been answered. Easier said than done, for sure.

Prayer is like talking on the phone. We can't see the Divine. We carry on our conversations, rather one-sided, unable to "see" the Being at the other end of the line.  But, a conversation of sorts, nonetheless. Do I need to "see" the Divine to carry on the conversation? Of course not. All I need do is look out my window to the trees, the birds, the little creatures running through my yard, and I know Creator is there listening to me.

Do I get answered? Most of the time, although the static of the Universe and my own Monkey-mind, often obscure what is being said. However, when I am silent, when I can get my mind to focus, there is a soft, gentle voice that speaks to my spirit. I know to listen closely. Never once have the answers failed me. The more I listen, the easier it is to connect with what Spirit is saying. 

So, my wish for you all today is that you will be able to find a space to be quiet, to converse with the Divine and hear Spirit speak to you in that soft, gentle voice of knowing.

Blessings to all.
 



 

 

 

 

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