Hanging out in Jesus' office

Sorry for the absence. This is a busy time of year at work. In fact, all my meditations seem to be Opus-Dei-like, growing in my walk with Christ as I relate to my job...

This morning, I went into the chapel before morning Mass, as I usually do, for a few minutes of recollection and reading the morning selection in Magnificat. There was the usual crew there: the home-schooling mother who wears a mantilla, the father of five who unstintingly pours himself out for his family and the parish, an older semi-retired guy who prays for a written list of people, another older fully-retired guy with the map of Ireland all over his face, the incredibly quiet still Asian lady I don't know anything about....

I hunkered down and immediately continued a conversation I've been having with God, a near-diatribe where I am trying to work through my incredible willingness to sin in particular ways. And I was struck with the similarity of hanging around the boss's office door.

Some people charge in, state their business and leave. Others like to chit-chat and socialize and joke about what's happening right then, and then work their way around to asking their question. Still others stand half-in, half-out of the office door. If the boss is talking to someone else, or is on the phone, some people walk away and don't come back, or even forget what they needed. Others hover, offering opinions on the prior conversation, whether they're welcome or relevant. Some evince impatience, others are relaxed.

Prayer isn't one style. It's OUR style, and if done honestly, will bear fruit and improve our style in the bearing.

I feel a little better about how I pray. I may not have "Madonna hands" or a radiant uplifted face and hands (sometimes, feeling vulnerable, I wilt a little when I look at other people praying: they look so darn holy) but I come as I am before the Lord, and I'm being me. That's a relief.