Wednesday, May 07, 2008

The Lord's Prayer

Thank you all for your kind comments, observations, and encouragement about my upcoming life change. I will still be an early riser, I am sure. I will not be doing much relaxing, lying on the beach, watching t.v. It is probably true that the organizing will not look as enticing when I actually have time to do it - that is one of my fears! As my friend, Sharon of California Breeze said, it's more of a lateral job change than retirement. But it is a good change. One that I need and am ready for. I have a post in my head about all of the changes that are happening at once, and I'll get to that soon.

I took the challenge our pastor offered this year of reading the Bible through this year. I have done it several times before, using different versions and following different plans. This year the scripture is lined up chronologically, and it has been very helpful to read it in this way, and I am using the Message. Soon I plan to share the nuggets that have jumped off the pages from the Psalms. In the meantime, I want to share Psalm 23, which we all learned as kids - the Lord's Prayer - as it was shared with me by one of my faculty members. This man is brilliant - several master's degrees, and a Ph.D. He has one of his degrees in theology. I don't believe he claims to be a born again believer. But he knows from where I come, and is always forwarding things to me that bless me. This is an example - I wish I knew who wrote it. Enjoy and be challenged.


Our Father Who Art In Heaven.
Yes?
Don't interrupt me. I'm praying.
But -- you called ME!
Called you?
No, I didn't call you.
I'm praying.
Our Father who art in Heaven.
There -- you did it again!
Did what?
Called ME.
You said,
"Our Father who art in Heaven"
Well, 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 fulfilling a duty.
Well, all right.
Go on.
Okay, Hallowed be thy name .
Hold it right there.
What do you mean by that?
By what?
By "Hallowed be thy name"?
It means, it means . . good grief,
I don't know what it means.
How in the world should I know?
It's just a part of the prayer.
By the way, what does it mean?
It means honored, holy, wonderful.
Hey, that makes sense.
I never thought about what 'hallowed' meant before.
Thanks.
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? Why, 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.
We're kinda in a mess down here you know.
Yes, I know;
but, have I got control of you?
Well, I go to church.
That isn't what I asked you.
What about your bad 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 kind of books you read ?
Now hold on just a minute!
I'm just as good as some of the rest of those people at church!

Stop picking on me!
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 thought about it very much until now,
but I really would 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 ME.
I'm proud of You..
Look, Lord, if you don't mind,
I need to finish up here.
This is taking a lot longer than it usually does.
Give us this day, our daily bread.
You need to cut out the bread.
You're overweight as it is.
Hey, wait a minute! What is this?
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 just might get what you ask for.
Remember,
you called ME -- and here I am.
It's too late to stop now.
Keep praying. ( . pause . . )
Well, go on.
I'm scared to.
Scared? Of what?
I know what you'll say.
Try ME.
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!
Why, Lord, she's told lies about me, spread stories.
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 quite a load carrying around all that bitterness
and resentment isn't it?
Yes, but I'll feel better as soon as I get even with her.
Boy, have I got some plans for her.
She'll wish she had never been born.
No, you won't feel any better.
You'll feel worse.
Revenge isn't sweet.
You know how unhappy you are --
Well, I can change that.
You can? How?
Forgive Ann.
Then, I'll forgive you;
And the hate and the sin,
will be Ann's problem -- not yours.
You will have settled the problem
as far as you are concerned.
Oh, you know, you're right.
You always are.
And more than I want revenge, I want to be right with You . . (sigh).
All right all right . .
I forgive her.
There now!
Wonderful!
How do you feel?
Hmmmm. Well, not bad.
Not bad at all!
In fact, I feel pretty great!
You know, I don't think I'll go to bed uptight tonight.
I haven't been getting much rest, you know.
Yeah, I know.
But, you're not through with your prayer, are you? Go on.
Oh, all right.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Good! Good! I'll do that.
Just don't put yourself in a place
where you can be tempted.
What do you mean by that?
You know what I mean.
Yeah. I know.
Okay.
Go ahead. 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 now.
I've really made a mess of things.
I want to truly follow you.
I can see now how great that would be.
So, tell me . . .
How do I make you happy?
YOU just did.


13 comments:

Baba said...

Good morning Dawn, What a great way to explain the Lord's Prayer...thanks for sharing.. I have been retired 4 years and 3 months and love it.My new hobby was learning to blog and meeting all of the wonderful people..Come see my youngest granddaughter Olivia and how she is growing..You would never know that she was born 4 weeks early.Have a fun day.. Hugs, Baba

Susie said...

Hi Dawn,
Good explanation of the Lord's Prayer (Our Father) I learned it this way and still sometimes find myself almost adding the last line when praying in the Catholic Church.
Looking forward to your post on retirement plans.
xo

Ms. Kathleen said...

Wonderful post... Retirement? Aren't you a bit young for that? But really what is retirement,...? I mean, you'll be so busy with other things, I'll be more busy in fact! Ha! You living in a state of retirement? I don't think so! But I'll bet you sure have a lot more fun!

Hugs!

Mimi said...

great post on the Lord's Prayer...it is a very good reminder that we are seeking God's will and his guidance when we pray the Lord's prayer and it is not just words...
wow the 1 month and 3 weeks will go fast and then the first year of retirement will go even faster!!

Linds said...

I love the prayer. Makes me think too. And I so wish I could be retiring one day soon!

Mike Golch said...

Dawn,I really enjouted reading this posting It really made mne think about saying the Lord's prayer. I thnak you for this.

Linda said...

Thanks so much for sharing that Dawn. It is rather convicting I think. Too often prayer becomes something - a duty - that we just sort of walk thoughtlessly through.

I know you'll get your retirement routine all worked out. I must warn you though, I find my days have become rather unpredictable since I have reached the point in my life where I have "nothing to do"!

Barb said...

At least you're going into retirement knowing the word is pretty much meaningless. I was never so busy when I "worked" as I am now, in reTIREment. LOL

Sharon Lynne said...

Interesting...that he's not a believer. God will work on him.

I wrote a piece in similar style awhile back with a passage in Matthew. About--not being anxious---and the Lord says "Look at the birds...do you see them toiling? I take care of them---why wouldn't I take care of you?"

I did enjoy this rendition of the Lord's Prayer. It has a lot of truth in it!

Check you email.

Diane Viere said...

Love this!

And oh how I can't wait for you to retire from that darn job of yours....and spend full time blogging and blessing! More posts just like this one! Keep-em-coming!

Diane

Midlife Mom said...

Great post as always Dawn. Really made me stop and think about what we are saying when we say The Lord's Prayer. Sometimes we can just be so accustomed to saying something it loses it's meaning somehow which is tragic.

You will LOVE retirement! The good will so outweight the things that you will miss. I had to retire quite some time ago due to health issues (15 years) and I have loved every minute of it and there aren't enough hours in the days to get all the things done that I want to do. I wish I could say that my house is totally spotless at all times but it isn't but I'd rather be doing things with the grands any day over cleaning. I hope you are okay, don't have your e-mail address so can't write but let me know if there is something I can be praying about for you!!! xoxox
thediz@roadrunner.com

Carole Burant said...

Hello dear Dawn,

Thank you so much for the email you sent me explaining about your earlier date of retirement...considering the circumstances, I guess it's better that you leave in June instead of August!! Sad that it all had to turn out this way but I think you will love being retired:-)

I so loved reading the meaning behind The Lord's Prayer...we get so used to saying it, sometimes we tend to forget just what the words truly mean!! xoxo

Val said...

This is so great! Thanks for sharing.