The Car and the Prayer

We just have this tradition to pray before we pull out of our parking place. Praying and cars should work. Praying and cars should be together. Prayers and cars should be ritualistic. I know our God hears us. It is a wonderful feeling. OK maybe God does not hear us. Maybe God is too busy. It could be that we just hear ourselves. Intentions that are good, a little extra love. It kind of makes us understand.

Now my wife totaled her car just the other day with our young son within. Horrible accident. A man and his bride pulled quickly over and carried my son quickly over to their car safely out of danger next to the freeway. My son is named after the great Archangel Gabriel. His Vietnamese name means “American Saint”. I do not know what “saints” look like. I do not know what an angel looks like.

But I do know what saintly and angelic actions look like. Beyond me. Kindness and love to a stranger or enemy is the best there is about good people. But perhaps just that moment of prayer makes a difference. Seems here to us it makes a difference. I think I have read that prayer of any sort is really good for our health. It obviously works around us.

Tragedy.

Now that is an interesting concept. I am not sure I really understand it. It could be “harm to another”. Or maybe harm to many. Like a Forest Fire or earthquake I do figure. This is weird but I view death as passing on. Just a release from the body. Too much for me to comprehend I reckon. Wisdom is only granted through time maybe. But people do say my son was born wise. Not interfering with that has been one of my primary goals. It would be tragic I guess if I did.

Maybe tragedy is the blocking another’s or your growth. Could it be that tragedy is apathy? If we do not care, to me is tragic. Rudyard Kipling wrote to the effect that tragedy and triumph are impostors and the same. A little too heavy. Probably safe to assume that some pray to God but view God differently. Like mother earth or a great part of nature like a river. Totally reasonable to me.

There is this cool thing out of the Bible. And it proclaims that God is Love and Love is God. And if you know love then you know God. (1 John around 4 I think) So maybe in our car we just love. And that carries us through.

Saying thank you in advance is kind of good idea. “Thank you for the help you are going to give me”. That is just a standard of mine. Maybe manipulative. I just now thought about that. But with strangers like sales people. It kind of sets a tone of mutual interest in success of some sort. In big deals I just start out with “thank you for meeting with me, I hope we can agree to somethings”. So I guess part of our car prayer is a thank you in advance. I just thought about that our family group hug in the morning is more about the future than the past. “Sweet dreams” which I say every night to my son along with “have a wonderful night and don’t let the bed bugs bite”. That goes along with a kiss on the forehead to check temperature.

Sometimes it seems that “I love you” is more about the future than at that moment. I think that taking a shower is a lot more about the day or night than about the shower. Maybe not in my case.

We talk about living in the moment. Well I pray for things in the past as grateful and thanksgiving. And I pray for good things to come. Don’t get me wrong here. In a moment I pray for both. And that moment is awesome. The time line continuum appears to be a trickster on us all. They say “do not live in the past” well good luck with that. Nice idea but what I do today is mostly from what I learned in the past.

So it comes to mind that the car prayer is present, past and future. My son was born in the past, lives in the present but I hope for him in the future. Thanks for the past, present and future is about right. Here is a cool turn of phrase; “I do not look forward to death but today I do not fear it as I have faith in the afterlife”. And that is taught to many in the past.

So the group hug prayers and the car prayers go on. How could it hurt.

God does not sit in white robes on a fancy chair. God is love and we pray that love carries us onword is in wellness of whatever sort.

Now moving forward to the car prayers. I think that maybe they just make us feel better. Maybe they just make us feel safer. Maybe they are totally selfish. I am down with that. Sometimes we do things for totally selfish reasons. Heck my son and I buy blankets cheap from AMVETS to give to homeless. I think we do that more for ourselves than them. I just do not know that answer.

Even if we are praying for people we do not know, it could be just to make us feel better about ourselves. Doing it together with others makes me all happy inside.

When I was a preacher man I led congregation prayers. To say it was overwhelming and I always teared up would be an understatement. I wonder to myself if I did that just for me. Of course hugs and gratitude were always given along with the great feasts after service and Sunday school which I “taught” but really listened to the children. In my limited field of vision teaching is more about listening than talking. Listening to a car prayer is so much more valuable than giving one.

Could it be that prayer is just reaching out to what is good in life? I have studied this for decades – literally. And in my supplications I have gotten no answers. It becomes clear that the only proper prayer is just pouring out love. I give a hand out and a salute and thanks for those who serve our country. I have no idea where that came from. Could it be that is a prayer for them?

Now this is a very strange one. Stay with me please. Tragedy and prayer. (don’t care who to) Wake up calls. Now I am quite sure that many have faced death more than I. But I have had more than both hands worth. Don’t know why. But each time it makes me more appreciative of the day. That is crazy. It should make you more depressed. Kind of?

Wow, so that is a prayer not made but answered. Maybe high blood pressure seen, fantastic. Change your diet and life style. How great is that?

But perhaps that quiet moment of contemplation helps you to drive safer, no road rage and to not drive distracted.

I wonder if that might be a kind of signal for life. Slow down and think before you take on your path kind of thing. Maybe like Buddha or Christ sending out disciples. I look forward to 20 more years to figure that out. But each day there will be a prayer of gratitude.

Namaste