Prayer of a Wimpy Woman

It’s hot!

I’ve never been a fan of hot weather, but I especially don’t like it lately. The heat index in my home area was at 117 degrees earlier this week. That’s just crazy!

I used to be tough. I grew up without air conditioning. In my childhood home, we didn’t even run fans. The one exception was a window fan in an upstairs bedroom that we plugged in at night to draw the cooler night air through the house as we were going to bed. When my mother thought the house had cooled enough and that most of us were asleep, she would unplug it.

I didn’t have air conditioning in a vehicle until the mid- to late-1990s. How in the world did I do it? Our school classrooms weren’t air conditioned. Even when I began teaching, we would all sweat together through the months of May, early June, August and September. And doing so in a classroom full of 7th and 8th graders was far from pleasant.

I’ll admit it: I’ve turned into a wimp. Some might call me “spoiled,” but I disagree. I truly appreciate the comfort that air conditioning brings. Those who practice gratitude are not spoiled.

St. Paul wrote in his letter to his friends in Philippi:

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  -Philippians 4:6 (NRSV)

Good and gracious God, your wonders of creation amaze and inspire. Thank you for the gift of our sun which warms our earthly home and makes it habitable. Thank you for the season of summer in which many of us find time for vacations which refresh and rejuvenate us. Comfort and protect those who have no escape from temperature extremes. Help those of us who enjoy the comforts of air-conditioned homes, workplaces and vehicles to be grateful. Inspire us to put our lives and resources in service to those who have less. And please don’t let my A/C break down! We make this prayer in the name of Jesus, your Son. Amen.

What about you? What are you wimpy about? Are you a grateful wimp too?

image by: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Joan has served in many capacities in her 13+ years with St. Anthony Messenger Press. She is currently the editor of "Every Day Catholic," a monthly publication for adult faith formation of individuals and small groups. She also draws on her years as a parish catechetical leader in her “Seen and Heard” column for the monthly e-newsletter "Faith Formation Update." She is married and is raising a teenage daughter. blog comments powered by

View the original article here