My Prayer Wheel

My Prayer Wheel

Before you get all upset about my using a Tibetan prayer tool, I have a story to share. Years ago when I was pastoring the Ark Church in Havre, Montana, I worked in a retail store part time. It was an opportunity to make extra income to support my family. It also gave me the chance to meet people in the community.

Cavaliers Men and Boys store employed me for the nine years. The owners, Tom and Doug, hired me even though I had limited experience in retail sales. You need to know that Tom and Doug were expert salesmen. They taught me how to sell. Their mantra was “ sell the customer what we have not what he wants.” Let me tell you, they could sell. Once I witnessed then selling a widow a burial suit with two pairs of pants for her deceased husband.

Besides learning to be a salesman, my other jobs included cleaning the toilets twice a week and vacuuming the carpet every morning. Growing up in a large family I knew how to do chores. The vacuum was an antique Kirby; heavy and awkward. It was a workout just pushing the thing around the store.

One day as I was vacuuming, this thought came into my mind: why don’t you take this “no brainer time” and pray. That started a daily routine of praying while I vacuumed. I prayed for family, friends, those in need, our church, our city and Cavaliers. I got so good at this, praying and vacuuming, that I enjoyed my morning chore. That old Kirby became my prayer wheel. The last time I was in Havre, I stopped by Cavaliers to see if the prayer wheel was still there. It was!

I confess that I miss those days working with Tom and Doug. They challenged me to step out of my religious comfort zone. They were gracious to let me study during slow times at the store. Most of all we became good friends.

The Bible says, “Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens.”