Shaklee Independent Distributor

Shaklee Independent Distributor

Kneading Prayer

This morning my husband emptied out the dishwasher and this afternoon as I loaded it I said a prayer of thanksgiving for him. I thought about all the times my mother must have done the same. In her silence she must have said prayers for us and thanked God for us - so many years of folding, sweeping, mixing and scrubbing gone unnoticed yet savored by Our Lord.
My mother taught me how to make bread and I often times pray as I knead my bread, rather than counting the minutes I keep track with the rosary, with every push of the heel of my hand and pull with my fingers I mix in my intentions; that the bread nourish my children with more than the nutrients of the grain. While watering my garden I give every plant a few Hail Mary's before I am on to the next one.
My mother must have done the same, she often seemed lost in thought transfixed on something beyond me, beyond the bread, beyond the garden, and beyond the laundry room. Unfortunately she was criticized for her silence- criticized by me. I wanted engagement, interaction, her opinions, her thoughts, her comments and I rarely, if ever, got them. But what would I be like had she dominated every conversation?
If my mother had never offered up her voice or sacrificed the need for her opinion to be heard, I may have never learned that I had one. If my mother had never toned down her own creative style, passion and drive I may have never needed a reason to shine. If she had been the best at everything and expressed her deepest desires I most likely wouldn't have seen the "fight" worth fighting or the challenges worth conquering.
Her strength is in her silent prayer. I can imagine, as a mother now, she often felt discouraged, under appreciated and her good works (and good words) unnoticed but her refuge in prayer has worked on the one daughter that begged for her voice the most. A fine example of teaching a lesson without a plan, without a scope (definitely without a sequence) but by example. Her prayerfulness soaked into me and has nourished me.


“But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. " Mt 6