Got this fabulous message from Sharon Renick, a prayer beader who lives in Trinidad, Texas, about 70 miles southeast of Dallas. I wanted to share it with you because it illustrates the serendipity of faith, the value of spiritual practices like prayer beads, and the power of taking control of your own prayer life and relationship with God.
“I want to share with you how I came to know about prayer beads. I’m not the best house keeper in the world. I’ve also had many different hobbies over the years. So, when I start looking for that one particular thing, it can turn into a rummaging around hunt through a lot of different boxes. One day I was looking for some beads and had pulled out several boxes of stuff. I finally found the beads and started putting the other things away. When I had finished, I noticed a book, A String & A Prayer, by Eleanor Wiley [and Maggie Oman Shannon] laying on the table near where I had been placing things. I didn’t remember putting the book there. I didn’t remember seeing the book in any of the boxes I had gone through and I didn’t remember ever buying the book. I have no idea how long I’d had it, but I was supposed to find it that day. I read it, savoring every word. It spoke to me in a way that nothing has in a long time. I looked at Eleanor’s website. I found your website and started hunting for your book. I finally had to order yours online because I couldn’t find it anywhere I went. While I waited for it to come in, I read every entry in your blog back to the beginning. Getting your book in the mail that day, was like a having Christmas! Now, I carry both books around and I’ve started a prayer journal where I write the prayers that speak to me. I also can’t stay off the beading sites!
“I’ve never attended a church regularly in my life. My father had actually wanted to be a minister when he was very young, but turned away from God around the age of 14 when his mother died. So, we were not bought up in the church. My husband was raised Catholic, but does not practice the religion at all and never even talks about it now. I try to respect his wishes and not press him on the subject. So, I have no particular denomination other than being Christian.
“I’ve only been making rosaries for a little over a month. My favorite prayers so far have been the ones that I’ve gotten from your book or website. I love the Julian of Norwich Prayer, the Lord’s Prayer, the Jesus Prayer, several of the Psalms and the Serenity Prayer to name a few. My husband has constant back pain, so I’ve adapted one of the prayers in your book for him. It’s the one that was adapted from The Book of Common Prayer and is listed as a Prayer of Healing. I use it almost every night. The first time I read the Merton Prayer (I think it was on your website) I cried. I often say it as one of my final prayers of the night. It’s just beautiful.
“I almost always use a variety prayers each night. I may use four different ones on the weeks and two different ones on each of the other beads or groups. I’ve found that I really enjoy so many of them, that I hate to limit myself to repeating the same ones, most nights.
“Thank you for your website and book. You’ve added a lot to my life.”
Sharon’s beautiful note just about did me in. I started to cry. It is stories like hers that make all the writing of the book – the solitude, the self-doubt, the feelings of inadequacy to the task – absolutely worth it. Thank you, Sharon. You are in my heart and my prayers.
Kimberly, you’ve brought tears to my eyes! Thank you.
That’s wonderful!
Laura
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