Quote from Forum Archives on April 26, 2005, 10:21 am

Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>

"The Lord's Prayer"

 

 
Our Father which art in heaven,

 

Yes?

 

Don't interrupt me. I'm praying.

 

But you called me . . .

 

Called you? I didn't call you. I'm praying. "Our Father which art
in heaven,"

 

There.  You did it again.

 

Did what?

 

Called me. You said, "Our Father which art in heaven."
 Here I am. What's on your mind?

 

But I didn't mean anything by it.  I was, you know, just saying my
prayers for the day.  I always say the Lord's Prayer.  It makes me feel good, kind of like getting a duty done.

 

All right. Go on.

 

Hallowed be Thy name.

 

Hold it. What do you mean by that?

 

By what?

 

By "Hallowed be Thy name?"

 

It means. . .  uhhh. . . It means. . . Good grief, I don't know
what it means.   How should I know? It's just a part of the prayer.
By the way, what does it mean?

 

It means honored, holy and wonderful.

 

Hey that makes sense.  I never thought about what "hallowed" meant before.

 

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

 

Do you really mean that?

 

Sure, why not?

 

What are you doing about it?

 

Doing?  Nothing. . . I guess. I just think it would be kind of
neat if you got control of everything down here like you have up there.

 

Have I got control of you?

 

Well, I go to church.

 

That isn't what I asked you. What about your temper?
You've really got a problem there, you know.
And then there's the way you spend your money - all on yourself.   And what about the kinds of books you read and what you watch on TV?

 

Stop picking on me! I'm just as good as the rest of those people
at church.

 

Excuse me. I thought you were praying for my will to be done.
If that is to happen, it will have to start with the ones who are
praying for it.  Like you, for example.

 

Oh, all right.  I guess I do have some hang-ups.
Now that  you mention it, I could probably name some others.

 

So could I.

 

I haven't really thought about it very much until now,
 but I'd really like to cut out some of those things.
I would like to, you know, be really free.

 

Good. Now we're getting somewhere.  We'll work together, you and I.  Some victories can be truly won. I'm proud of you.

 

Look, Lord, I need to finish this up here.
 This is taking a lot longer than it usually does. . .
Give us this day our daily bread.

 

You could cut out the bread.  It would help you lose weight.

 

Hey, wait a minute! What is this . . . Criticize ME Day ?
Here I was doing my religious duty and all of a sudden you break in and remind me of all my hang-ups.

 

Praying is a dangerous thing. You could wind up changed, you know.  That's what I'm trying to get across to you. Keep praying.
I'm interested in the next part of your prayer. (pause)
Well, go on.

 

I'm scared to.

 

Scared?  Of what?

 

I know what you'll say.

 

Try me and see.

 

Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

 

What about Ann?

 

See !?   I knew it!  I knew you would bring her up!
Lord, she's told lies about me, spread stories about my family.
She never paid back the money she owes me.
 I've sworn to get even with her.

 

But your prayer?  What about your prayer?

 

I didn't mean it.

 

Well, at least you're honest.  But it's not much fun carrying
that load of bitterness inside you, is it?

 

No.  But, I'll feel better as soon as I get even.  Boy, have I got some plans for that neighbor.  She'll wish she had never moved into this neighborhood.

 

You won't feel any better. You'll feel worse.  Revenge isn't
sweet.  Think of how unhappy you already are.  But, I can change all that.

 

You can?  How?

 

Forgive Ann.  Then, I'll forgive you.  Then the hate and sin
will be Ann's problem and not yours.  You will have settled your
heart.

 

Oh, you're right.  You always are.  And, more than I want to get
revenge against Ann, I want to be right with you.  But . . . (pause). . . (sigh). . .  All right.  I forgive her.
Help her to find the right road in life, Lord.  She's bound to be
awfully miserable now that I think about it.  Anybody who goes around doing the things she does to others has to be out of it.  Someway, somehow, show her the right way.

 

There now! Wonderful! How do you feel?

 

Hmmmm.  Well, not bad.  Not bad at all.  I feel pretty great.
You know, I don't think I'll have to go to bed uptight tonight for
the first time since I can remember.  Maybe I won't be so tired from now on because I'm not getting enough rest.

 

You're not through with your prayers.  Go on.

 

Oh, all right.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

 

Good!  Good!  I'll do just that.
 Just don't put yourself in a place where you can be tempted.

 

What do you mean by that?

 

Don't turn the TV on when you know the laundry needs to be done and the house needs to be picked up.  Also about the time you spend with your friends, if you can't influence the conversation to positive things, perhaps you should rethink the value of those friendships.Another thing, your neighbors and friends shouldn't be your standard
for "keeping up."  And please don't use me as an escape hatch.

 

I don't understand that last part.

 

Sure you do.  You've done it a lot of times. You get caught in a
bad situation,  you get in trouble and then you come running to
me:
 "Lord, help me out of this mess, and I promise you I'll never do
it again."  You remember some of those bargains you tried to make with me?

 

Yes, and I'm ashamed, Lord.  I really am.

 

Which bargain are you remembering?

 

Well, there was the night that my husband was gone and the
children and I were home alone.  The wind was blowing so hard I thought the roof would go any minute and tornado warnings were out.  I remember saying, "Oh, God, if you spare us, I'll never skip my devotions again."

 

I protected you, but you didn't keep your promise, did you?

 

I'm sorry, Lord.  I really am. Up until now I thought that if I
just prayed the Lord's Prayer every day, then I could do what I liked.  I didn't expect anything to happen like this.

 

Go ahead and finish  your prayer.

 

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.

 

Amen.

 

Do you know what would bring me glory?
What would really make me happy?

 

No, but I'd like to know. I want to please you.  I can see what a
mess I've made of my life.  And I can see how great it would be to really be one of your followers.

 

You just answered the question.

 

I did?

 

Yes. The thing that would bring me glory is to have people
like you truly love me. And I see that happening between us.
Now that some of these old sins are exposed and out of the way,
there is no telling what we can do together.

 

Lord, let's see what we can make of me, OK?

 

Yes, let's see.

 

Don't just repeat  the Lord's Prayer,
pray the Lord's Prayer.

 

"When our eyes see our hands
Doing the work of our hearts,
the circle of Creation is completed.
Inside us, the doors of our souls fly open,
And love steps forth to heal everything in sight."
Michael Bridge

 

 

"Golden Footprints"

 

 

Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Sarah
who lived in the village below the Mountain of the
Golden Footprints.

 

She was feeling very sad and depressed. Nothing or no
one could make her happy. She had been very unhappy
and depressed for a long time. What is the use of
going on, she asked? Nothing anyone said seemed to
make a difference.

 

Her best friend went to visit Sarah and told her the
story of the Mountain of the Golden Footprints. It is
a special place whereas the sun sets you can look out
over the city and see sparkling golden footprints on
the places and people where you have made a
difference. But I haven't made any difference in
anyone's life, she said. There won't be any golden
footprints for me to see. So why should I bother to go
here?

 

But, said her friend, If you don't see any golden
footprints, there is a special village on the other
side of the mountain. That is a place for all those
people who haven't made a difference. It is
comfortable and very pretty and there you can be
happy. So you see, you have other options besides not
going on with your life. If you went to the village on
the other side of the mountain, I would miss you, but
it would be better than your not being alive. You have
nothing to lose.

 

So Sarah decided to give it a try. After all, she only
wanted to do something. She could not go on the way
she was. Besides, although she was sure she would not
see any golden footprints, she had a little glimmer of
hope that going there would make a difference in her
life. The village on the other side of the mountain
also sounded like it could be a place where she could
be happy.

 

She walked up the path to the top of the Mountain of
the Golden Footprints. It was a long walk and
sometimes very difficult, but she had made the
decision to go to the top and continued on, although
sometimes she just wanted to stop climbing and curl up
and cease to exist. She reached the top and came to
the lookout point. She was greeted by a woman called
Faith who watched over the Mountain of the Golden
Footprints.

 

Sarah sat on a rock at the top of the mountain and
looked out over her village far below. Although the
sun was not setting yet, she felt inside as though she
were looking out over her life. She could see her
house and the house of her friend, the house of her
parents, her school, and many places from her
childhood. She remembered many things as she looked
out over these places, some sad and some happy. And as
she was thinking about her life, the sun began to set.

 

She did not really pay any attention since she did not
expect to see any golden footprints. But soon a golden
twinkling light began to appear in the park in the
middle of the village. She did not still believe it
could possibly be a Golden Footprint. Look, Faith said
excitedly, there is your first Golden Footprint!"

 

But how could that be, asked Sarah? I don't ever
remember anything I did in the park that could have
possibly made a difference.

 

That is my department, answered Faith. I have watched
people make Golden Footprints from this mountain top
for many years. I remember all the Golden Footprints
happenings. One day a long time ago, when you were a
little child, you went laughing through the park.
There was a man sitting there who had just left his
wife and child over a silly argument. He heard your
laughter and missed his child so much that he returned
to this family and lived with them happily ever after.

 

Well, that was kind of accidental. I certainly didn't
know I had done that, said Sarah. As she finished
speaking, another golden sparkling footprint appeared
on the house of her friend. Well, you have loved your
friend very much. Remember when she was very sick? You
went to see her and brought her flowers and stayed
with her and talked many hours and you held her hand.
If you had not done that, she would not have survived.

 

But how could that be, asked Sarah? I'm not a doctor.
I do not give medicine. How could I have saved her
life? The doctor gave her good medicine, but you gave
her hope. You gave her strength and courage, so that
her body could make the medicine work.

 

And as she finished speaking, the valley below was
aglow with Golden Footprints. There was one on the
school where her smile and love for learning had
inspired a fellow student to stay in school and become
a great philosopher. There was one over a tree that
she had planted in the yard of her house, and one over
the flowers that she had planted. There was one over
the place where her stubbornness had convinced the
King that the village needed a smoother road for
travelers, and he had smiled at her outspokenness and
feisty nature.

 

There was a footprint right on top of the roof of her
house. That was where she had taken her children one
night to watch the stars. There was one over the pub
in the village. There was where she had met her
husband and where they had fallen in love.

 

I had forgotten all those things, said Sarah. I was so
depressed that I only remembered the sad things and
not the good things. I guess I have made a difference.
And you will in the future said Faith. There are stars
to show your grandchildren and a birthday to share
with your friend. And your husband needs a romantic
evening at the pub.

 

Sarah sat for a long time until the sun had set and
the Golden Footprints disappeared and the lights of
the village were lit in the streets and homes below
and flickered, not as Golden Footprints, but as tiny
footprints of fireflies. Soon Sarah would start the
climb down the mountain, guided by the tiny lights
below.

 

Sarah smiled and thanked Faith. She started on her way
down the mountain and knew that someday she would tell
others about the Mountain of the Golden Footprints and
make a difference in their lives too.

 

Always remember you DO make a difference to many
people whose lives you touch every single day . . .
including me. Always remember ME... you have made a
footprint on my heart, you truly have.
Author Unknown 

 

 

Don't tell God how Big your storm is.
Tell the storm how Big your GOD is !

 

Have a Blessed Day
Dave and Barbara

 

 

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