Illustration by aitoff / Pixabay
Sunday mornings are warm, sepia-toned memories. Our getting-ready-for-Sunday-School ritual ran like clock work with 7 kids spinning in their own orbit yet never getting in anyone’s way. Taking curlers out of my hair, I’d sit and listen to the Sunday morning radio line up of local talent on a portable AM radio I bought from Edwards 5 and 10 cents store.
A warm breeze blowing purple floral curtains carried the raspy music of a local acapella Gospel quartet called “The Heavenly Four.” If I remember correctly, the lead singer, named Phyllis (who sang bass?), did most of the talking.
Phyllis prayed what I thought were the strangest prayers. I remember one in particular that I thought was absolutely outrageous. At the end of a long list of thank-you Lords delivered solemnly in her low, raspy voice, she’d say: “& Thank you, Lord, that no plane didn’t fall outta da sky an hit me..”
Even though my head remained bowed throughout her prayer, I wondered to myself. “What in the world??????” My brother, Grady and I discussed Ms. Phyllis’ peculiar prayers many times off and on through the years, wondering what was she thinking? We haven’t had that discussion for several decades now.
After 9/11, my brother Baron doing combat hazmat duty and an uncle parachuting into a battle fields of Desert Storm, we finally have some idea of what Ms. Phyllis was talking about. Hers was a prayer of gratitude for the Lord’s protection. He keeps us safe from terrible things. Terrible things seen and unseen.
But still, I wonder, what did Ms. Phyllis actually “see” to compel her to say that prayer. The word for the day is #terror. May the good Lord continue to keep us from it. Let us thank Him for safety, thus far.
Psalm 91:4-6, King James Version (KJV)
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
Until next time, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might!”
Your friend in Christ,
Verneda
Twitter handle: @vlights
© 2015 Verneda Lights. All rights reserved.
