Boat People

Today was one of the those days - the kind I hate, where I wake up on the wrong side of the world and just want to go back to sleep, dream of something pleasant, and try waking up all over again. But through sheer force of will, I got up and went out to the forest preserve to walk. It is beautiful, and there is one trail in particular that is very isolated and private. I chose that trail, because I needed to talk to God, and I did not feel like being quiet about it. I needed some answers, dang it.

I told God, "I don't understand this strange existence you have given us. We are spiritual beings, housed in these temporal, fragile, broken jars of clay. We are placed here to live out our lives in this spiritual universe, in the midst of a relentless battle - caught between heaven and earth. And we seem so clueless, fickle and tossed. It seems crazy to me." 

And I felt God speak to me, "But I have given you all the power."

I don't pretend to be a saint. I don't see people that way. And I feel God is much more likely to hear the sincere prayer of the non-churched, than the self- righteous prayer of the religious. We are all pilgrims, boat people, trying to reach the other shore. Some days we swim against the current, other days it carries us. But we have the power to help each other, to encourage one another, to keep one another afloat. One day you are strong - the next day I am. Let's get there together.