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Rachael Morales's avatar

Goodness, I feel wordless again, but I'll try. :)

We are really compelled by the thoughts and perspective you share. I feel like you're walking in our future, in some way, and I'm really encouraged to hear how you're navigating the world.

Prayer has been this curious, unsatisfactory, anguishing, longing kind of thing -- Am I doing this right? Are you hearing me? It's also been a place of such angry hope -- you could do something, God, but will you? It's been groaning and triggering in turns with bubbling out as a reflex of joy and gratitude.

I'm confused by prayer. I'm also in detox from an upbringing of "doing it right." eg, be careful what you pray for, don't ask in the wrong way for for the wrong things, no mistakes, etc. I feel lost and freed without my prayer-molds. I feel heard and abandoned.

I think prayer is an infinite, relational mystery that we've tried to shape into comprehensible equations.

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Shawn Smucker's avatar

Something that helped me through the years, and something my friend Mindy Caliguire talks about a lot over at Soul Care, is silent prayer. I wanted to return to prayer but wasn't exactly sure what to say or even how to do it anymore, so I would sit quietly for five or ten minutes with a word or a phrase, and that has drawn me back into the "infinite, relational mystery" (I love your phrase, there).

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Angie Oberg's avatar

I really appreciated your words this morning Shawn. I was just talking to my daughter about some hard things she is going through. She talked about borrowing hope from others when she does not have hope herself. I think prayer is the same way. We can borrow others’ prayers or trust others to carry us when we can’t carry ourselves. Thanks for sharing.

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Verna Smucker's avatar

Thank you Shawn for always remembering and writing about Linda. I miss her!!

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Jay Heltzer's avatar

Living in chaos, or chaos in living? Take your pick. Every day we’re presented with a “thing” and who we become is based on how we deal with the thing. I’m sorry it was your turn for a car accident yet I’m grateful that no one was seriously injured. Good luck dealing with the latest thing, and I hope it resolves well.

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Shawn Smucker's avatar

Thanks, Jay.

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