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Lindsay Schlegel recalls a powerful moment of prayer during a pool playdate and considers the impact it could carry into other seasons.


Every summer, a friend the next town over invites my kids and me over to swim in her pool for an afternoon. Each time, she recalls my oldest son’s food allergies. I forget that one of her children doesn’t like chocolate. But there is always enough food and fun to go around, and no one wants to leave when the day ends.

My friend and I chat poolside about our summer plans, our kids’ schooling, and how we’re doing as moms, while the kids play. She is welcoming and kind, and if I had to use just one word to describe her, Christlike would certainly do it.

Last year, a notification went off on her watch as we were talking.

“It’s three o’clock. Do you mind saying a prayer for mercy with me?” she asked.

I readily agreed, and my friend bowed her head, made the sign of the cross, and pleaded with our Lord for His mercy to wash over the earth, to touch lives in need of His love and forgiveness. It wasn’t a Divine Mercy chaplet, as I’m accustomed to associate with the three o’clock hour. It was a sincere and concise prayer, and in a minute or so, we said “Amen,” and went back to our conversation.

Except that I’ve been thinking about and appreciating that moment for the whole year since.

 

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My friend offered me a powerful witness that day on so many levels. First, that it is the responsibility of those of us who have the gift of faith to pray for those who don’t have it or have refused it. Our faith is not a private matter to serve ourselves alone; it is grace meant to be shared—grace we are obliged to share. We can—and should—do that both actively and openly and through prayer.

Second, that every hour of the day is an opportunity for prayer. It need not always be set aside as something apart from the demands of our vocations or from the joyful elements of our vocations, those when we spend time with others and grow in friendship. In his first letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul writes,

Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-19)

 

This instruction was played out in real time for me that day at the pool.

Third, that we ought not to be ashamed to share the daily practice of our faith with others. Yes, my friend knew I was a practicing Catholic, but her easy confidence and the naturalness of her asking me to join her in prayer suggested that it wouldn’t be so far-fetched for her to offer the same opportunity to someone struggling or unsure in their faith. This takes discernment and trust in the Holy Spirit, but to experience her heartfelt prayer, I could sense this, too, is something she holds dear.

Fourth, that it does our families good for us to witness to our faith in the presence of our children. I don’t know if my kids noticed that moment of prayer. But I’m sure her kids are aware of this practice, and my guess would be that they take it to be something totally normal. We pray at home, so if someone comes into our home, we invite them into prayer with us. We parents are our children’s first teachers, after all.

 

Click to tweet:
Our faith is not a private matter to serve ourselves alone; it is grace meant to be shared—grace we are obliged to share. #catholicmom

 

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Later in that letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul writes,

May the God of peace himself make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

 

We engage with this intention of the Lord by pursuing a life of prayer, by making it a central part of our family’s culture and of our approach to friendship. Even for just a moment. Even in a swimsuit and cover-up next to a bowl of watermelon and a pile of pool toys.

I would love to say that I have started this practice in the year since. I haven’t. Not yet. But it’s stayed in my heart and on my mind. We never know how the Lord is acting in someone else’s life (sometimes, I’m not totally sure how He’s moving in my own!). As this summer is already halfway spent, I think it’s time I make an effort to set my own alarm for three o’clock and wherever I am, take a moment for mercy.

Will you join me?


Copyright 2022 Lindsay Schlegel
Images: Canva