Rev. Veronica Martinez-Gallegos
Chaplain and Assistant Director of Spiritual Care and Education at Atrium Health in Charlotte, NC
At a young age, I learned that prayer means having a conversation with God. In my personal experience, prayer has always been how I connect with God. Of course, the way I do so has changed over time. I have learned that I do not need to be in a holy place to pray. On the contrary, I have been in chaos, accompanying others in my role as chaplain. I have experienced God at work in the darkest of places, not just in the stillness and peace of a sanctuary.
The way I best connect with God is through journaling. I have a collection of diaries I have kept from my youth. When I feel sad or distressed, I read some of those diaries and remember my conversations with God. Reading those prayers is like watching a movie of my life and remembering how God has been by my side.
On occasion, I have used art to connect with God. I draw images and ideas that I capture in my diary, another way of conversing with God. For example, I remember that, for a while, I often drew a labyrinth where I could not find the exit. After several years that image changed to a path where I had options. When I see those images, it is very comforting to know that I was not alone in all that time that I felt lost. Skimming through my journals gives me a sense of peace and a desire to continue having meaningful conversations with God. However, not long ago, I discovered that this was a spiritual practice that I had been observing for many years.
I have also found other ways to let go of my worries through prayer. “Casting all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). As a chaplain, seeing so much suffering caused me great anguish. Realizing that I was carrying the suffering of others with me, I decided to do something about it. At the end of each clinical day, I began the practice of placing a ribbon in a glass jar. The jar represents God, and the ribbon represents each person I visited that day. Offering an interceding prayer and letting go of each person, acknowledging that God holds them, helped me feel free of burdens that are not mine. I have called this the “prayer jar.”
Pray. . .Give. . .Go.