Community Prayer Nights

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. 

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. 

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.   

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. 

Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. 

Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. 

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. 

Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. 

Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. 

It was never between you and them anyway.

- Mother Teresa 

Every week on Sunday one of us plans a prayer (the above prayer was Caitlin's prayer tonight). It can be anything. We have done the classic scripture reading to drawing to singing to looking at the stars. I love our community prayer. It continues to be one of my favorite moments every week. We are always tired and always have a ton of stuff to get done for Monday, but every week we put that life stuff aside for 20mins up to 2hrs sometimes to be with each other and with God. 

I have never been in a place in my faith life, or in a peer environment, where faith and God were acceptable conversation topics. I believe, for me at least, that to really own my faith, it needs to be contemplated and tested. And I think I have done a good job of doing those things so far - going to Thailand helped me see Christianity through a different lens and opened my eyes to Buddhism, having Muslim grandparents ensured I took an interest in Islam, and despite going to Catholic schools all my life, I have had a lot of friends that are either agnostic or atheists and enjoy discussing their beliefs. So I am good on that, for now anyway. What I have never had is a group of people who I can discuss faith with coming from a similar perspective on spirituality and God. I have learned so much about my relationship with God from my community members. I am really amazed by how much I have grown in my faith (as can be seen by this post which I NEVER would have done 6 months ago) through their insights and comments during prayer each Sunday. I am definitely still in the testing and contemplating phase, but for the first time I feel like it is actually taking me somewhere instead of running me in circles. Which is a really good feeling.