Nick and I pray a lot.

Each morning, we roll out of bed, stumble into the morning, and gather our life forces to tackle another Boston day of job, work, study, people….life. You know it, you do it, too.

Just before I head off to work (three flights of stairs to my office) and Nick meanders toward BC for class, we gather each other up, sit on the couch and pray.

We pray for strength to get through each day; in gratitude for our many blessings. We ask that God keeps our friends and family safe in all of their endeavors and throw in a few extra special intentions as well.

We also take turns leading prayer. Once we sit, I extend a finger and poke Nick in the shoulder and say, “YOU. Go,” signaling that it’s his turn to lead. We both have days where we are more eloquent, when we know exactly what to say and the other is moved with grace and spirit.

However, yesterday, Nick’s prayer took a different sort of a twist…

Thank you, Lord for this day. We ask that you continue to guide us in all that we do and that we are always aware of your love, your Spirit, and forgiveness. Lord, we thank you for all of our blessings, this day and everyday. It is a blessing to think about starting a family, while others are wondering where they are going to sleep tonight. It is a blessing to have options about what vocations we want, while others do not have enough to eat. It is a blessing to wonder about the course of our lives while others, uh,…others worry about getting killed by their neighbors. We thank you for everything. Amen.

Midway I ducked my face into Nick’s armpit but my shoulders were already shaking.

N: What?

L: -unable to speak-

N: What?!

L: “….WHILE OTHERS WORRY ABOUT GETTING KILLED BY THEIR NEIGHBORS?”
I was laughing so hard I couldn’t even breathe.

N: Why’s that funny?

L: You think that many people in this world are worrying about getting gunned down by their next door neighbor?

N: Well, that shows how wide your perspective is – I was thinking about the people in Darfur!

L: I am not insensitive to global issues, I was just stuck in the US-based context of prayer. I was limiting myself to thinking about our own country. Yes, you are right. People in Darfur worry about their safety relative to that of their neighbors.

N: It’s true!

L: I know. It’s just semantics. “…worry about getting killed by the neighbors…” That’s just some serious morning prayer.