prayer – Kay Foley

I met God at a yard sale near my home recently. I’m calling her Ida.

Miles and I stopped in at a yard sale a block away, mostly because we were just walking past but also because it was at a yard I particularly admire for its rustic creativity. I commented about this to a sturdily built African American woman who was there and we both wanted to have a peek into the backyard, as well. But then, all of a sudden, she turned to me and said, “God is telling me to pray for you.”

Whoa! I was the tiniest bit taken aback. But I’d had a rough week and my eyes stung immediately. I told her I’d had a hard week but that it was mostly resolved now. She said, “That was God. Is it okay if I pray for you?” So I said sure. Really, why not? Then, “Would you give me your hand?” Again, whoa! I hadn’t expected that she would pray for me right then and there. I figured she would add me to her list later that day or the next morning in church. Nope. Right then and there, holding my hand and out loud. In the middle of a yard sale. And then she handed me a bracelet with this passage from Corinthians on it: “Faith Hope Love. Abide by these three. But the greatest of these is love.” And off she went.

I did not get her name, though she had asked for mine, for the prayer. She was skilled at praying, that was clear. As she drove off, I placed my hand on my heart, gave her a nod, and she waved. I was so touched. She had not asked if I went to church or believed in God or Jesus or anything like that. Just like I imagine God would do.

I’ve decided that I will call her Ida and she will be my version of God. And I believe I will take up praying to Ida. I have thought of her every day and I love the idea of this sturdy, bosomy African American woman in shorts and a t-shirt as my God.

Since that day I’ve made some very nice changes that will make my life better, too, changes that I’ve struggled over. So thank you, Ida. You have made a difference.

I am convinced that we need to be open to whatever and whomever comes our way. I don’t always manage it but I do believe it’s important to do. I am very grateful for the fact that I chanced by that yard sale at that particular time and that Ida did, too. You just never know, do you? You just never know what is waiting around the corner for you.

Who has made a difference in your life lately? What random encounter has changed you?

“Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.” ― Mawlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi

“This place where you are right now, God circled on a map for you.” – Hafez

“Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one’s weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

If you’re looking for my cards or art, you’ll find all of that on my website. If you enjoy these letters, feel free to forward this one to anyone you think might like it. And if someone forwarded this one to you, you can sign up here to receive the letters right in your Inbox. Finally, you’ll find past letters and poems here.

Thanks for listening,
Kay

P.S. MerryThoughts is the name of my first book, out of print at the moment. The word is a British one, referring both to a wishbone and to the ritual of breaking the wishbone with the intention of either having a wish granted or being the one who marries first, thus the “merry thoughts.”

I had a friend, since passed away, who would nearly always follow his criticism or complaint of someone with, “Bless his heart.” It might seem disingenuous but I always liked it. I thought he was basically saying, “I don’t like what he does, but he’s a good, imperfect person.” Aren’t we all?

And those words, “Bless her heart,” are lovely, when you really think about them. So much better than “Bless you” after a sneeze. Bless your heart. Bless the most vulnerable part of you. And that, to me, is even better. He would also say it directly to me, as a form of empathy. I’d have a cold or maybe I’d be dealing with something difficult, and he would say, “Ohh, bless your heart.” It’s somehow more than empathy. He wasn’t just feeling my pain, but offering something more.

Words do have power. Those kinds of words were not a part of my childhood, though, and aren’t now, either, though I’d like to try and say them. We said, “Bless you!” if someone sneezed, but we did not ever speak in terms of blessings, prayer, or God at home. We were Catholics! We said formal prayers in church, things we memorized in Catholic school. That kind of talk did not enter into our daily life. I get a little itchy when people do speak of God or Jesus as if they’re talking about an uncle or someone who lives down the block. And I feel like they can see all the way through my silence.

Another friend, also now gone, used to ask me to pray for him in his fight with pancreatic cancer. Finally I came clean and said, “You know, I’m not much of one for prayer, but I am holding you in my thoughts.” He just smiled and said, “He knows what you’re thinking.” No judgment, just easy, gentle acceptance.

I do love the idea of a blessing as a piece of grace, a delight bestowed, a kindness, some solace offered by me or by the universe to someone who needs it. I love the word, though I am not religious. I love it for all these other meanings. I love it as a loveliness we can bestow on each other, rather than the Catholic way of receiving it from someone who is supposedly better or higher (more male) than me.

So I am blessing your heart, from this distance. I am blessing not just your heart but all the parts of you! I bless you all over! I hope you can feel that.

“You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestation of your own blessings.”― Elizabeth Gilbert

“Money can’t buy no blessin’s.” ― Ron Hall, Same Kind of Different as Me

“In the end, life is about collecting experiences and looking for the lesson and blessing in each one. Yet we are never to carry these experiences on our backs, only in our hearts. One will hold us back, while the other will keep us moving forward.” ― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun

If you’re looking for my cards or art, you’ll find all of that on my website. And if you enjoy these letters, feel free to forward this one to anyone you think might like it. And if someone forwarded this one to you, you can sign up here to receive the letters right in your Inbox. Finally, you’ll find past letters and poems here.

Thanks for listening,
Kay

Tag: prayer

Ida

Bless His Heart