For Anne Lamott and All My Other Teachers
She says there are only two prayers:
“Thank you, thank you, thank you”
And “help me, help me, help me.”
The psalmist says help comes from God,
But God works through people.
When I close my eyes and summon them
I see the God-bearers in my life
And feel their love,
God’s love
enveloping me,
enlivening me,
sustaining me,
sustaining the world.
They have names and faces and stories of their own
But for me they’re also the face, voice, hands of God.
The grandmother who always had time for me,
who always made me feel capable and worthy.
The babies I conceived and birthed and suckled
whose warm little bodies once curled against me,
trusting me completely.
The little girl with the broken, battered spirit
who didn’t trust me at all
sent by the God with whom all things really are possible.
The lover who showed up at such an inconvenient time
and showed me
how to be fully present,
how to love with nothing held back,
and then how to let go but never stop loving.
Loving, letting go.
Cherishing, learning, being present.
Treasuring, remembering, reminding.
Opening my hands, my arms, my heart;
Surrendering control
Then learning there’s no need for it.
Help? It’s already here
I already know what I need to know.
“It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright”
is God’s answer to prayer.