Say a Little Prayer

Al Anon meetings vary city to city, state to state, country to country, and they each have their own procedure, their own way of doing things.  Slightly different openings may greet us, all 12 Traditions are read or maybe just a few.  I do like those that end with the Serenity Prayer, because it's such a fantastic reminder, and one I often miss because I'm usually late to the start of my meeting.  Whoops.

But at my particular meeting, my home meeting, we close by holding hands in a circle as we recite "The Lord's Prayer", or the "Our Father."

I was raised Catholic, and though I do not belong to the faith now nor any religion to speak of, I have my own way of connecting to the prayer that can change day to day.  Sometimes it makes me sad, sometimes it makes me chuckle.  Depends on what I'm going through, what I'm feeling.

For my Catholic or Christian readers please forgive me - I mean not to offend, but to explain how I steep myself spiritually in my own way, given that it's not mandatory for me to join in, but I admit I don't want to be "one of those people" who leaves before the prayer and gets talked about (joking, and of course I'd miss out on the meeting after the meeting).  Or one of those who doesn't recite the prayer at all (I sometimes wish I were Jewish).

Also it's to make some of you laugh, but please don't hold me to that.

As I say the words to a particular line, I hold an image of something in my mind that has personal meaning to me.  It's how I like to "start the day" from that point forward.

It's kind of like this:

Our Father (my dad - obvious maybe, but he's passed away and this works for me)
Who art in Heaven (the horse track - his heaven)
Hallowed be thy name (damn straight)
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done (my venture)
On earth (my real life) as it is in Heaven (Downton Abbey).
Give us this day our daily bread (venture's product)
And forgive us our trespasses (my latest screw up)
As we forgive those (husband) who trespass against us (ridiculous thing that he said/did recently)
And lead us not into temptation (scone)
But deliver us from evil (McDonald's fries)
For thine is the kingdom (universe),
the power (love),
the glory (new shoes) for ever and ever.


Amen.