Sharon Kinsey's Reflections

I once read an article that said that grace, a prayer, or a blessing are moments during which we can pause and reflect. We can offer spoken words to make room in our lives for clarity, gratitude, and focus. I tell my friends and family that I am often guilty of continuous partial attention. Inattentive overthinkers like me often need some kind of external reminder to pause and give thanks to the One whose love and light fills our souls. Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk talks about finding “bells of mindfulness” in daily life – events that will trigger one’s conscious attention like brake lights on the car ahead of you, the bell that rings at the end of class, the YIELD sign in the round-about, the telephone, or the doorbell. What might those bells look like in one’s prayer life?  I’ve been meeting with others on Sunday afternoons after service to talk about a variety of spiritual practices…it has helped me enormously to find a rhythm, focus, and balance in my prayer life instead of becoming distracted by random thoughts.  

A while back I learned about threshold prayers – simple blessings or encouragements to say before the comings and goings of those in your family. Parents offer a quick blessing whenever their children leave the house. I can see my mother standing in the driveway bowing her head briefly before waving us on as we left to return home.  

May the Lord bless and keep you

May the Lord make his face to shine upon you

And be gracious unto you

May the Lord lift up his countenance before you

And grant you peace.

Kate Braestrup, a police officer’s widow, calls these prayers a “boundary between interior and exterior, known and unknown, self and other, parent and child.” Sending our boys out the door with admonishments to “Remember your gym shoes,” or, “Call me if you are going to be late,” were accompanied by some silent version of, “Dear Lord, walk beside them and keep them safe.”

This is one simple way that Braestrup often blesses her children, Grandchildren, or other family members and friends. Hold your hands up with palms out and say “May love and strength be in your hands.” Then rest your hands, one on top of the other against your chest as your say, “May love and courage be in your heart.” Press your palms against your forehead before raising them in the air as you say, “May love and wisdom be in your mind. May God be with you and work through you, today and in all your days.”

There are lots of prayers that fit the moment on the threshold. Bonhoeffer reminds me that even when I’m not in a good place, “Your hand has been over me and has guarded and preserved me.” Some of these prayers, even fit that precise moment if you have to cross the threshold by yourself. Many of us remember that sixties-era anthem from Godspell. 

Day by day, dear God, of Thee, three things I pray:

To see Thee more clearly,

To love Thee more dearly,

To follow thee more nearly, Day by day.

It’s kind of a perfect everything prayer – exactly the pause that needs to be said before we take on the day.