Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Thursday, May 7, 2015

Prayed Awake

See? Adorable.

I went away to school.

Far away.
It was the most difficult four months of my life.
But I learned a lot.
Most importantly, I learned that I really don’t like to be away from family.
All I could think about was being home.
I learned a lot about prayer in those days.
It got me through.
My five roommates were great. Supportive, fun, encouraging, sympathetic.
And they taught me something about prayer as well.
Maybe I should explain . . .
I lived in an apartment with three bedrooms.
Each shared by two girls.
My roommate, Bev, was a sweetheart.
Kind. Sweet. Patient. Soft-spoken.
And very strong in her faith.
It was not unusual for her to kneel in prayer for a long time.
A. Very. Long. Time.
At some point, shortly after we became roommates, I realized that she wasn’t praying.
She was asleep.
There. On her knees on the hard old floor.
It couldn’t have been comfortable.
After that, when she had been praying for what seemed a sufficient amount of time, I would make some noise.
Not a lot.
Just enough so that if she really had dozed off, it would stir her.
And save those knees.
Now Bev was nothing if not proactive.
She saw that she had a problem and did what she could to fix it.
She bought a book, ‘How to Pray and Stay Awake’.
I applauded her positive, pre-emptive spirit.
That evening, she sat down happily on her bed and opened her new purchase.
A few minutes later, I glanced over at her.
She had nodded off over her book.
And was snoring softly.
Some things you just can’t fix.

15 comments:

  1. So many times I find it hard to stay awake doing things that I find really entertaining. I need something to divert my attention so I have to keep concentrating on the job at hand. When driving alone I always have a bottle of soda pop close to hand so I can divert my attention, even for a moment. Of course that would be difficult, to sip on a bottle of soda while conversing with the Lord.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really don't think the Lord would mind, at least you're still talking to him, when so many ignore him altogether.

      Delete
    2. I agree with River. At least you're talking . . .

      Delete
  2. There really is a book for everything!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tired is tired...nothing you can do about it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I found college exhausting too - can't really blame her!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I remember those 'tired' days. They definitely were exhausting. Then I discovered parenthood. Need I say more? :)

      Delete
  5. If she was praying for sleep her prayers were certainly answered. That's better than insomnia anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That's hilarious Diane! There is definitely a book for everything! I have to tell, it's so funny! Mom just walked past my screen while I was reading your post. She stopped and said "Oh Honey, you really need to paint your fence!" I didn't know what she was talking about until she pointed out your background! I didn't even attempt to explain it just had to laugh!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bwahahaha! Tell your mom I'll get right on that! :)

      Delete
  7. Falling asleep while kneeling would be so hard on the knees!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't imagine staying asleep on aching knees! Yowch!

      Delete

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