September 20, 2016
October 29, 2016
December 30, 2016
January 14, 2017
And Today.
January 20, 2017
I had my first ever prayer room experience at St. Mary's Catholic Church on Ohio Street in Bangor, ME.
I was invited by a friend to a place that was very soothing, peaceful, and quiet. A special place for her to soak in God in a way that blessed her. I felt honored she would invite me. To be included in someone else's way they experience God is an honor. Its a very personal thing...this faith stuff. Some people communicate with God in nature, some in a church building, some during communion, some do simply kneeling in their house at 3 a.m. when they can't sleep...(ahem, me...). But today, I was able to share this very personal experience with an extremely lovely soul.
We met in the parking lot outside the building. Once you enter the building you must be silent, as it is a very reverent and quiet and holy prayer time. In this building they hold a prayer vigil every single week from noon on Wednesday until noon on Saturday. Every Single Hour someone is in this building praying....I'm simply blown away by that. Some of us have a hard time remembering to brush our teeth twice a day, let alone committing that kind of time to prayer at all hours of the night, EVERY SINGLE WEEK! Amazing.
Heather and I talked outside the building. I shared with her some recent things I felt led to pray about. We hugged each other. Its so beautiful that the very pure bond of God between two souls creates this relationship. She said she had awoken at 3:30 a.m. and had prayed for me that morning. I told her I was without peace last night. I was so unsettled and unable to calm down. I appreciated her thoughts of me, as I too, was up praying because that is what I do now when I can't sleep. Usually I just go back to sleep, but last night was so different. I simply could not. Strangely my friend Valerie was also up last night, unable to sleep and was praying....for me...I mean WOW... thanks God. We talked, then we entered into the building.
We walked into the prayer room. It was beautifully arranged with 2 prayer spots to kneel in the front. A gorgeous tapestry hung from the wall in front. Two red candles glowed. There was a light that shown down from above. A golden figure of sunlight was at the front of the room on a stand. Heather motioned to go to the prayer altars so I did. Have you ever simply drank in silence? It was silent in this room. I closed my eyes and bathed in the peace. The beauty of that utter calm soothed my soul. I poured out my heart to a God I truly believed was listening in that silence. Heather reminded me that because God is everywhere, when we breath in, we are breathing in the very essence of God. God is so present we forget how close and every present God really is. Being in that room, kneeling, reminded me of the miracle of breathing. The miracle of this life. I kept breathing in, praying, breathing. We got up and sat in stillness, praying. I looked over to notice some prayer books.
I love to read. So I picked up one of the prayer books. The poetry, the prayers, the reverence seeped out of those words into my soul. I experienced a cleansing. A cleansing from worry. A cleansing from doubt. A cleaning from thinking there was something to do....
Two thoughts came to mind as I finished in this prayer room. We were there for almost an hour. Glorious. I believe we are going to make it a weekly ritual. The intimacy of prayer created a communion between souls, for souls. Its pure lovely.
"What men meant for evil, God means for good." I looked this up when I got home. It comes from
Gen 50:20. You meant to harm me, but God is using it for my good so that many will be protected. This is the story of Joseph.
The second thought I had as I finished praying was
"Beauty from ashes". Again, this is in the Bible! Isaiah 61: 1-3...specifically...we are trading beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, and praise for despair... The poetry of this part of the Bible is quite beautiful.
I walked away after almost an hour feeling as if I could embrace beauty, joy, and praise.
Thank you Heather for this wonderful experience. What a way to bring in peace into this year
on
January 20, 2017
I love you all.
I'm here.
Focusing on the good in all.
Even when you have ashes that need beauty,
Mourning that needs a joy infusion,
and Despair that needs some praise.
My door is always open. I'm only a phone call away.
Blessed tonight to have had this honest experience with a new friend.
Julie Erb Robbins
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