I pray with my Mom when I am with her. She likes it when I do, and says that I pray beautifully. I could probably mix a batch of corn starch and water… and Mom would think it was wonderful. But with the prayer thing…. I don’t really spend much time in churches, and I no longer practice Catholicism, as she does. Yet. We do not have to believe in the same way, or even the same things, for this time together…… to work.
We agree on the final agreement. We want the good.
A perfect example of this is Santa Claus. Some of us do not believe in Santa Claus. Yet, when someone DOES believe in him… we do not openly disagree. On the contrary, we act like we believe right along with them. We help them bake the cookies for him, we pour the glass of milk, and write the note. And when the presents come… we exalt with them. We feel the joy.
Suddenly, through their eyes, we can see the magic of Santa Claus come to life. Whether we believe in him or not.
But here is the deal. Our world is complicated. I wish we could put the Santa Claus Clause to work in all areas of our lives.
In current events, in politics, in relationships. But it gets pretty tricky, doesn’t it? We each hold certain values and standards in life. An example. To some people, human rights means equality for all people on all levels. For others, it means something different…. perhaps the right to own a gun. This is just one little snapshot of the variances which exist in our world.
How do we compromise? Or should we?
I don’t guess there are any hard, fast answers. If I knew them, I would be president, or Pope, or something.
But will anything help?
Could it be a little like praying with someone, or believing in Santa Claus? Could it be…. that we do not have to believe in the same things. Maybe it is more about trying to understand the perspective of the other. Not necessarily accepting it, but understanding it.
And in those moments of consideration, it could be that we find a little softness. A buffer. A middle ground. That I may not seek so much, to be understood, as to understand.
So. We…..
Bake the cookies. Pour the milk.
And then in the voice of Dione Warwick…. “I say a little prayer for you.”