Lynne Baab

Praying about the flow of time: Piano month and square dancing month!

Lynne Baab • Tuesday September 3 2024

When I was six, I begged and pleaded for piano lessons. I have no idea where that desire came from. At seven, my Mom agreed I could start lessons, and I continued for many years. In the 70s and 80s, I accompanied hymns and praise songs at church and conferences, but gradually, my piano playing became a private joy. I still play hymns and praise songs, and they help me pray. I can totally get on board with September being National Piano Month. I’m trying to play the piano more often in September to celebrate this cool holiday I just learned about.

September is also International Square Dancing Month. While some people get a lift in their heart when they think of square dancing, this is a holiday that makes me feel a bit guilty. My beloved Dave, whose art you enjoy each week with these blog posts, loves to dance, but I’m uncomfortable as a dancer. I feel sad that Dave has danced much less than he would have liked throughout our marriage.

Some other holidays in early September also remind me of the variety of human experiences. September 1 is Royal Canadian Air Force Day. My dad was in the US Air Force, so I have some resonance with that day for Canada. I wonder how being in the Canadian Air Force differs from the US Air Force. September 2 is VJ day. Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945, but the official instrument of surrender wasn’t signed until September 2. I wonder how people in Japan experience August 14 and September 2 each year. September 5 is International Day of Charity, established by the United Nations. September 5 was chosen because Mother Teresa died on that day in 1997. When I think of Mother Teresa, I think of the sisters she worked with and the people she served. Such a variety of experiences they all had.

That’s what I’m pondering today: the variety of human experience. We have so much in common as humans living in a world lit up by God’s love. Sadly, we also all experience or know about brokenness, aggression, violence, abuse, environmental degradation, and many other signs that the world is not right. While we all experience blessings and sadness, the way they come to us varies greatly.

Unexpectely, this was brought home to me when we lived in Dunedin, New Zealand, for almost 11 years. In Dunedin, we welcomed daffodils and the very earliest spring flowers this time of year, while our friends and family members in Washington and Oregon were seeing the first signs of fall: yellow leaves, cooler nights, much earlier sunsets, and the beginning of the school year. The difference in our experiences on the same date was surreal at first.

Dunedin in September is still quite cold, barely any warmer than the depths of winter a month or two earlier. Yet September brings more light, longer days, and a weekly parade of spring flowers. In contrast, in many tropical or subtropical places, the light and vegetation don’t change much in September. In Florida, the hurricane season is more than half over right now. In India, the monsoon season will end within a month or so.

Human experiences vary so much. This statement is entirely obvious, but I hope you will ponder how this might enrich your prayers. The first step is to engage our imagination. What does a person in Dunedin, New Zealand, feel today when they see daffodils? What does it feel like to live on the Gulf Coast in September when a hurricane is heading your way? What are the hopes and dreams of people who love to square dance and do it often? Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity still work in Calcutta. What might be happening there today?

How might God call me to pray in response to what I can imagine?

Maybe you can do this kind of imagination so easily that you are overwhelmed by all the sad things to pray for. In that case, maybe spend some time imagining the things people in New Zealand, Florida, and Calcutta could be rejoicing about today, and thank God for the gifts you can imagine they have received. Or, pick one place — and only one place — to focus your imagination on. We are not responsible to pray for all the peoples of Earth. Occasionally, though, it helps to expand our horizons of prayer.

I’m going to give you one of my favorite prayers from the Book of Common Prayer. I encourage you to pray this for yourself and the people you love. Then, pray these words for someone whose life experience is very different than yours, perhaps someone you know or someone in a place you have used your imagination to visit.

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and forever. Amen. [1]

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Next week: Our Lady of Sorrows. Illustration: Piano player and his dog at the historic Olive Branch Tea Room in Tacoma, Washington. Drawn by Dave Baab and painted by Nona Baab, our ten-year-old granddaughter.

I've written several posts about Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere. I know it's not the Christmas season, but my reflections in this post might help Northern Hemisphere readers imagine life down under, and it might amuse my Southern Hemisphere readers to see what I found to be thought-provoking. 

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[1] The (Online) Book of Common Prayer, page 212.

Lynne M. Baab, Ph.D., is a teacher and writer. She has written numerous books, Bible study guides, and articles for magazines and journals. Lynne is passionate about prayer and other ways to draw near to God, and her writing conveys encouragement for readers to be their authentic selves before God. She encourages experimentation and lightness in Christians spiritual practices. Read more »

Lynne is pleased to announce the release of her 2024 book, Friendship, Listening and Empathy: A Prayer Guide, illustrated with her husband Dave's beautiful watercolors. She is thrilled at how good the watercolors look in the printed book. Another recent book is Two Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian  Life,  available in paperback, audiobook, and for kindle. Lynne's 2018 book is Nurturing Hope: Christian Pastoral Care for the Twenty-First Century, and her best-selling book is Sabbath-Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest (now available as an audiobook as well as paperback and kindle). You can see her many other book titles here, along with her Bible study guides.

You can listen to Lynne talk about these topics: empathy, bringing spiritual practices to life. Sabbath keeping for recent grads., and Sabbath keeping for families and children.

Lynne was interviewed for the podcast "As the Crow Flies". The first episode focuses on why listening matters and the second one on listening skills. 

Here are two talks Lynne gave on listening (recorded in audio form on YouTube): Listening for Mission and Ministry and Why Listening Matters for Mission and Ministry.

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"Dear Dr. Baab, You changed my life. It is only through God’s gift of the sabbath that I feel in my heart and soul that God loves me apart from anything I do."
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