A few weeks ago, I helped take a group of 20 kids to the beach, most of which had never been before. Señora Maria came along and she was obviously nervous. For the first two hours, she stood as a centurion at the shoreline, never taking her eyes off the kids. In her right hand she clutched the wooden cross she normally wears around her neck. As she stood there, keeping constant vigilance directed towards those children, I think her every breath was a prayer.
I’ve been thinking about prayer, about its power. I don’t know how it intercedes or affects external events, but I do like something that Kierkegaard said:
“Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.”
It’s remarkable how much time I can spend thinking about the most ridiculous and selfish things. Perhaps one of the greatest powers of prayer is in its ability to make people think outside themselves, to spend time focusing on the needs and wellbeing of others. Call it whatever you’d like, there is power in that. Power to change the person praying, to make them more aware, more considerate.
Maria is one of the most selfless and steadfast people I have ever seen.
Her every breath.
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