Dearest Father, You do not need my reminder, but my oldest daughter plays the stand up bass.   She has a gift with that instrument.  The instrument is enormous and when its strings are slowly bowed, the sound is haunting and deep.  

It sings forth a deep echo which can be felt in the center of your chest.   When a piece is played with perfection, you are caught by the instruments haunting and deep soul.  If a piece of wood could know heartbreak, the sound it would emit would be that of the Bass.

Then with the flick of a wrist, the music can change. 

With the finger’s memory and my daughter’s skill, she can dart between strings and produce a jazzy, joyous sound that will soon be transmitted to the tapping of your feet.  Watching how her fingers jump from position to position and string to string, you get the sense of a dance.    It’s as if her fingers are celebrating with each moment, and do so without thought. As I think of life, and its constant twist and turns, the music that takes hold in my head, is that of the Bass.

With that quiet music echoing, I remain speechless that our prayer list is always so large.   I hear prayers requested for people I recognize and some I do not.   I find myself praying for my family and my friends, and as I do, I wonder why each of us must suffer through sickness, pain, or grief.     I close my eyes, see their faces, and I hear that long, slow, sad and deep song of the Bass.  I can’t help but wish that I had the words to make it all go away.  

Not wanting these moments of hopelessness to grow, I pray that when I do need your comforting words, your healing graces, and the assurance of your presence the most, that somehow you will lead them to recognize them before me. When I am in the midst of the sad symphony, God please be there for me.

Despite the ache that exists deep down, and keeps me searching for answers, I realize that we will never have them all.  Help me, and each of us, to some day come to grips with those very things that we find so hard to accept.   Help me to see that there will be dancing and celebrating tomorrow, no matter how bleak today may appear.

Help me, and help each of us, to remain patient…to remain calm….to not grow angry….  Help me to sense and to see the dance of your fingers on my horizon, and help me to remain strong.   Keep me in your care and your embrace when we can’t make sense of what is going on around us.

Help us to realize that the day will someday come, when you will show us the ways, and the reasons.   Help us to see that part of our faith is putting our trust in you, and trusting in that promise.  Help us to lean on you, when we feel no control,…or when we come face to face with our helplessness. When our hearts break, and there is a weight upon our shoulders, help our legs to remain strong.  

We raise our prayers to you when we struggle and when we celebrate.   Help us to recognize that there are no ordinary moments.   Let this day, and all of our days, be moments to share with you.  Help us to live a life that sees you everywhere.  Help us to hear your symphony, where joy and sadness merge to form a beauty beyond our comprehension.

In the words of our Lord, and as celebrants of your divine gifts, we seal these prayers by saying…Our father….

(The Bass Pictured is the Florea 3/4 Double Bass, picture from Florea)