Before I speak of prayer on wheels, I announce to you that my clutch is suddenly cured and is not giving me one ounce of trouble. I took it my car in for a tune up and $407 later learned that there is nothing wrong with my manual transmission. I remain convinced the mechanic must have jiggled some wires or futzed with the clutch parts, which fixed whatever was ailing it, as the thing is purring like a kitten and my car drives like it's brand spanking new. Thank you, Mr. Mechanic and Baby Front Wheel Drive Jesus! (WWJD? He would drive a stick shift. Don't you forget it. And, he would have gotten new front brakes like I did because when ya gotta stop, ya gotta stop.)
I am taking an evening class at church. (Don't ask.) Our assignment for the week was to call "Silent Unity," a 24 hour prayer line created way back in the day of the founding of Unity--you know, turn of the century stuff. Our teacher asked us to call so we could experience this "part" of the church's services. Of course, back in the day, you had to correspond with Silent Unity by mail, as the phone and email were yet to grace the planet. Anyways, the free prayer line is open to all, no matter what denomination or belief. Heck, an atheist can call--they don't care and they don't ask. (Who knows--maybe an atheist would call on behalf of a relative who has asked for such assistance.) All they do is pray with you. They lead the way--you don't have to say one word once you tell them why you are calling. If you want correspondence, they will email or mail you, but to do this you obviously have to give them your contact information and they certainly don't pressure you for anything like that. As it is a free service, you don't have to do anything but contact them and let the prayer begin. You are welcomed to send a love offering, but the prayer will flow whether you do or don't.
In case you now have a hankerin' for prayer, you can call 1-800-NOW-PRAY or email Silent Unity via unity.org. Heck, there is even a free app for "The Daily Word," which includes links to Silent Unity. Is this a great country or what?
I totally forgot about this assignment until the day of class; in fact, I totally forgot about the assignment until I was on my way home to eat dinner before going to class. It wasn't that I didn't want to call--I just didn't realize what day it was until it was the day of class. So, being the good multi-tasker that I am, I decided to call the prayer line while driving home for dinner.
Note to self: do not call a prayer line while driving.
The lady who answered the phone had an amazingly soothing voice--she was probably a late night love show disc jockey back in the day.
S.U.L. (Silent Unity Lady)"How may we pray with you today?"
Driving while making my request was easy--I had already identified a topic and in a few short words presented my request. I had planned on also engaging her in discussion about her experiences working the prayer line, but was fine with "just" prayer if that's how things went.
S.U.L.: "So I may better pray with you, may I ask your first name?"
Me: [insert my REAL name here. I didn't think using "Addi Warrior Princess" would be appropriate.]
S.U.L.: "Let's close our eyes...."
Me: [to self, behind the wheel....WHAT????? CLOSE MY EYES? CLOSE MY EYES? I can't close my eyes! I'm driving! Should I interrupt her and tell her I'm driving? OMG, why am I calling a prayer line while driving? Can she hear the traffic in the background? Oh dear god, whose idea was this? Does she think I'm a freak for calling while driving? Should I scream out that I can't close my eyes?]
S.U.L. "...and let us get comfortable as we pray....."
Me: [still panicking, eyes wide open, trying to listen and pray and drive at the same time. Lady, I got one hand on the clutch, one hand on the wheel and you're balancing on my shoulder while surrounded by crabby 5 PM commuters. How comfortable do you want me to be?]
S.U.L. went on and on with a wonderfully relaxing, positive, god-glowing prayer. It was delicious. The more she spoke, the more relaxed I felt.
Traffic zipping by, I decided I was wasting a really good prayer by driving and calling Silent Unity at the same time.
I thought about pulling over but I could tell she was heading toward the prayer wrap-up and final "Amen." I figured it was too late to get out of the right lane and into the prayer zone. Alas, my moment of blessing was done. As we ended the call, I agreed to have my prayer put on the 30 day prayer list, as I thought I'd get my "money's worth." Besides, it seemed like the right thing to do in regards to class homework. I envisioned my request sitting on an alter or some fancy wooden table, along with four bazillion other requests, moving up the pile as each day rolls by. I gave her my email address so she could send me "proof positive" that I'm on the prayer list and to encourage me to do my part in making the request come to fruition. The call ended and I was only a few blocks from home. Confident that my prayer was heard, happy that my homework was done, thankful that I can pray and drive at the same time, I headed in for dinner.
Me: "Hey! Guess what I did on the way home?
The wife: (stares at me, without comment).
Me: "I called Silent Unity!"
The wife: (still staring at me, obviously thinking I am seriously deranged to be calling a prayer line while driving) She laughed and shook her head.
I sat down and ate my dinner. Right during my last spoonful of cereal (I am quite the gourmet some days), I decided that calling a prayer line while driving did make the commute go much fast. After all, the song says, "Jesus, take the wheel."
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