HI LINE PRAYERS
We rode the HI LINE across a 66 mile stretch of Montana today, and my mind wandered to prayers quite often. We left Cut Bank a little behind schedule, as it was the day we said goodbye to my brother and Carmyn and also said a tearful goodbye to all the luxury items they had been hauling for us. Like our pillows. And that mango lotion. The map options weren't the best for us---we could have an extremely short day, by riding about 24 miles to Shelby and stopping for the day, or we could ride about 66 miles and hit Chester. Since it was before noon when we got to Shelby, we decided to ride on. There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in between these towns. NOTHING. SO much NOTHING that I went to someone's house today and asked if I could sit in the shade of their porch and drink my water (an enthusiastic "YES!").So, I was thinking about prayers.
When I was a kid, my mom was my spiritual supervisor. She taught me to pray before bedtime, asking God to bless my mom and my dad, my brothers and my grandparents, and we finished it off with THY WILL BE DONE. It was crass to ask for anything for yourself, and hopefully you'd get covered by the people YOU were praying for. Likewise, God was not the one you asked for an EAZY BAKE OVEN, that was Santa Claus. I got that mixed up sometimes. Eventually, I added our dog, Droopy to the list, advancing her up and over the brothers until she was number one on my list for blessings. Now my prayers are somewhat similar to back then---I'm more thankful now, and full of gratitude, and I still want the people I love to be blessed. I also want peace, between nations and tribes, in my home town and on my block. I want people to be free from suffering, and to find shelter from the dangers and illnesses that plague them. I want everyone to have a good day. I say a special prayer for my friend Mel, that he gets better and is riding a bike one of these days, and the last thing I ask for, sort of like that EAZY BAKE OVEN is for a tailwind across Montana. Just a little one, just enough to get me to Havre in one piece.
When I was a kid, my mom was my spiritual supervisor. She taught me to pray before bedtime, asking God to bless my mom and my dad, my brothers and my grandparents, and we finished it off with THY WILL BE DONE. It was crass to ask for anything for yourself, and hopefully you'd get covered by the people YOU were praying for. Likewise, God was not the one you asked for an EAZY BAKE OVEN, that was Santa Claus. I got that mixed up sometimes. Eventually, I added our dog, Droopy to the list, advancing her up and over the brothers until she was number one on my list for blessings. Now my prayers are somewhat similar to back then---I'm more thankful now, and full of gratitude, and I still want the people I love to be blessed. I also want peace, between nations and tribes, in my home town and on my block. I want people to be free from suffering, and to find shelter from the dangers and illnesses that plague them. I want everyone to have a good day. I say a special prayer for my friend Mel, that he gets better and is riding a bike one of these days, and the last thing I ask for, sort of like that EAZY BAKE OVEN is for a tailwind across Montana. Just a little one, just enough to get me to Havre in one piece.
posted by Laurel @ 8:03 PM
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