September’s Precious Distractions
September 4, 2024
Here’s a jolt. This is a post about prayer.
Yeah, I know. When I outlined my blogs for the year last December, October seemed far enough way that I could psyche myself up for it in ten months.
Actually, I have been wanting to write about prayer. Maybe I’m inspired by the charm of autumn’s changing leaves, but communicating my thoughts to a higher being has become an essential element of my existence. Here’s why . . .
In late July, Rene and I met with our long-time friends, Jerry and Laura Herships, at White Chocolate Grill at the Park Meadows Mall in Lone Tree, Colorado. We unexpectedly ran into Jerry there a few months prior and agreed a get-together was long overdue.
What a fun night we had with the Herships, laughing and telling stories. Jerry started his career in LA as a stand-up comedian, then answered a call to serve God by attending seminary at Iliff School of Theology here in Denver. After getting ordained, he served as a pastor at a church we previously attended and was the founding pastor of After Hours Denver, described online as “ . . . a faith community of rebels and misfits that meets in dives and pubs to talk God and the Holy over drinks while making PB&Js to pass out to the hungry and homeless of downtown Denver.”
Talk about living your purpose with clarity and vigor! Jerry’s next assignment after serving the underserved was as pastor of a community church in (yes this is true) Aspen, Colorado. Jerry is now back and is currently the pastor at Applewood Valley United Methodist Church, just up the road from us in Golden. He and Laura are blessings in our lives, and Jerry—twice published himself—is a much-appreciated supporter of my writing habit.
Jerry is also a masterful orator. In fact, one of my favorite one-liners from his “God Talk” series on YouTube, which I highly recommend, is this:
“Prayer may or may not change the outcome of a situation. But it always changes us.”
~Rev. Jerry Herships
Please pause to reflect on the power of his statement as you enjoy a photo of the fall colors from a tree in our backyard that I took last year.
***
After my falling out with organized religion thirteen years ago, I revamped my spiritual life and established a direct connection to God, primarily through prayer. But then my bout with breast cancer shifted my approach. I stopped praying for miracles, which included multiple requests to grant me the ability to transform others to make them more understandable and approachable, less self-centered, and more trustworthy.
Yep, I really did previously pray for miracles like that, because I thought my job was to fix everyone I thought was broken. One of the many unlikely gifts of my cancer experience was the realization my purpose is not to judge how others live. I had my hands more than full with fixing myself, letting go of festering grudges, and starting fresh. Focused on clarity, gratitude, and compassion, not what I perceived to be others’ flaws.
Thank you, Jerry and Laura, for reconnecting and reminding us what truly matters.
Amen.
