Surprise Surprise

It has always been said that prayer is the best foundation for a relationship. Often times great differences arise when people of different religions come together. I'm not saying of course that inter-religious couples dont work, it's just more challenging.

After reading "By the River Piedra I Sat and Wept", the struggle to find themselves in the midst of a religious encounter prompted me to ask, why not M. and me. We do come from the same religious backround. Roman Catholic. However the way we practice is entirely different. He is a staunch traditionalist. Which means he is very structured, following A.C.T.S. and all that. Very contemplative and quiet. Self reflective. I am very charismatic. Meaning a lot of movement, euphoric events. Gifts of the Holy Spirit which manifests in divine ways. I raise my hands in prayer-- very loud and prophetic. Although we do not criticize the other, middle ground is hard to find. I think in his opinion the charismatic way is too out there. The hand raising and the shouting of "Alleluia" might seem very different. To me, the traditional way is very stale and doesn't feed enough of my senses to be fulfilling. But the one thing we do have in common is prayer.

I was talking to him a while ago and as it happens often, we talk about us. He gave a very unusual request, one that caught me of guard simply because I didn't expect it of him and it was something I have been wanting for a while I just didnt know how to approach it. He asked if we could pray together before sleeping at night. I was really surprised. It is a comforting feeling to know we want the same things in life, perhaps in different proportions, but the same nonetheless. It may be too early to tell, us celebrating only four months tomorrow, but I have a good feeling about this. We're changing together which is a good think. Growing together makes the experience more worthwhile and complete. Tonight will be the first night we'll give the prayer thing a try. I have hopes for us. What a nice way to cap off the Christmas Season.

Emmanuel, God is with us.