Saturday, December 13, 2008

A Rosary by any other name . . .


Recently during a quick turn in CHS (Charlie South, Charleston, SC) a cool rain was sprinkling the ramp, and the peeps were disembarking down the air stairs from our flight down. After going to the 'big boys room' (always avoid the blue juice RV bathroom in the plane if you can) inside and getting paperwork I marched back out to the plane.

An upright, bright, and properly dressed young woman with an air of joy and righteousness came right up to me. In a cheerful voice she asked 'are you the Captain'? Flattered, I thought she wanted to thank me for the flight (I had lucked out on the landing again). She said 'I have a gift for you, rosary beads for you'. She told me she gave them to the 'other pilot'. Surprised and thankful, I accepted them gracefully, and murmured 'thank you, thanks a lot'. Her act of blessing and gift giving complete, she confidently walked inside, never looking back. I presume she was a future Catholic Nun in training, and the way I was treated I would've recommended her.

I'm not Catholic, but I have a healthy respect for anyone who is a regular and devoted practitioner of the Catholic faith. As I watched the three elderly Nuns board our flight out of CHS, I wondered 'did they know their fellow sister in training?' and I meditated on the significance of this gift.

Now I have a set of rosary beads, what am I going to do with them? I'm not going to start praying the rosary, sorry. Instead, I'll carry them with me to remind me to pray, and to pray more often. A Rosary by any other name is a set of prayer beads, for me anyway.

My spiritual life (my 'inner life with God' as the discipleship course I've been attending terms it) has had some pretty positive changes this fall. I have a greater awareness of my prayer life, or lack thereof. So, this event, this 'God thing' as I see it, has inspired me to pray more often and to pray for more persons and things. I'm reminded of Paul's letters from Ephesians 6:18: "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.".

Till next time, I'll be crossing the sky. And hoping to pray more often.












1 comment:

Kim said...

You know praying the Rosary is a little Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be...I guess what I'm trying to say is that you already are praying the Rosary and then some! I never thought you would get so close to being Catholic! I never thought I would become Catholic, but I am. I also really am excited to see us encouraging one another and not bashing one another with the small differences in the way we choose to walk with Christ.