In the Holy Presence of God ...

365 Days Project - Day 14: Prayer
Originally uploaded by { karen }
This has been a week of intense prayer. But not the usual down-on-my-knees at night for my 10th Step review. It has been sitting for people for whom I care and love. The healing power of praying for another is amazing. It is a reminder for me that my recovery program is only strengthened when I am in service. You have to give it away in order to keep it.

Perhaps the most gratifying aspect of praying for others is that I get to be in deep conversation with my higher power in a selfless, rather than selfish way. I am brought directly to the line of the Prayer of St. Francis: "It is by self-forgetting that one finds." Putting my ego and neediness on a shelf this week allowed me to drop into Divine connection in a way that I haven't felt in quite some time. All week, I felt kinder, gentler, softer, more spacious and open-hearted.

Today, I sat with a former colleague at a new college that I will be teaching at this coming Spring semester. Their mission is very spiritually-driven and I was given a small book which was chock-full of information about the origins of this mission and, much to my surprise [pleasantly], a mulititude of prayers. It literally has the feel of an AA Big Book ! Complete with the serenity prayer AND the Prayer of St. Francis. One of the main statements in this little gem of a book captures the feel of this prayerful week I have had :

"Let us remember we are in the Holy Presence of God."

Life is always, always better when I do remember this. And, conversely, when I forget about my relationship with God, I am out of sorts, unkind, off my beam, acting from my small self.

There is no mistake that I should have this college and their handbook cross my path at this exact time. I am ready and open to receive and participate in fulfilling this mission. It is so much in alignment with my spiritual path. As my beloved fellow traveler & partner in healing shared with me when I relayed these pearls with her today: "You may just have found your teaching home."

The word that shouted the loudest from her statement: Home.

Home is when I remember that I am in the Holy presence of God.