May 17

In the first movement of this prayer form,  lectio, I read a text and see if a word or phrase stood out. As often happens when praying in this manner, there was a phrase that stirred up a memory. In this case, the phrase that shimmered was “ listen to my words.” The memory it evoked was of a voice saying, “Carolyn! Carolyn! Can you hear me? Carolyn, you have a daughter.” Then there was a more familiar voice - “And you can name her anything you want!” 
My husband and I had not been able to agree upon a girl’s name for our unborn child. (In my defense, one of his suggestion was that we could name the baby after his grandmother - and call her Grandmother Goddard.) When my labor started, this dear, sometime silly man rushed me to the hospital. That night, the delivery ward was overcrowded. The epidural that the doctor administered took only on half of my body; the doctor had me anesthetized in preparation for a Cesarean section. The next thing I remember was someone gently slapping my face, saying, “Carolyn! Carolyn! Can you hear me?” 
I was pulled out of that drug induced stupor by the sound of a voice. Inside the darkness of my mind, the voice sounded far away, small - but it was enough. I could follow it back to consciousness. I woke to a new life - a life in which I had a daughter! Many times in my life, I have been called by another far-away, small voice, prompting me to wake up, calling me to a new level of consciousness, inviting me to new life.  I have not always responded immediately to that gentle voice, but whenever I “listen to (such) words,” I have been lead deeper and deeper into Love.