The "God Box"

In the Aug/Sept 2012 of Catholic Digest, Mary Lou Quinlan wrote a touching article on her mother's "God Box." Like many of us, her mother had lots to pray for. Quinlan writes, "With a growing list of wishes and worries on her willing shoulders, Mom decided to adopt the idea of a God Box to lighten her heart. She'd grab any handy scrap of paper . . . date it, write 'Dear God,' describe her need, sign it 'Love, Mary,' place it safe inside her God Box, and let it go."

After her death, Quinlan found ten of these God Boxes up in her closet with petitions covering over twenty years. "We were overwhelmed to see how often she took our cares to God. It was like being wrapped in her arms all over again." She also always put God's will before her own, adding, "if You think it's right" to her notes.

I think that this is a beautiful idea. I know so many people need and ask for prayers and I do try to honor every request, even if it is only a quick Hail Mary when I read a Facebook post or think of someone who needs help during the day. And I hope others do the same for me! It can be hard to keep track of all the requests, however, and I feel badly when I hear about something bad happening  to someone and then I remember, "I promised to pray for that person, but then I forgot in the busyness of life."

I have heard of people keeping lists of those who need prayer and then they pray for those "on their list." In some ways, this is a similar idea. However we do it, we need to turn our prayer requests over to God. A "God Box" is a wonderful thing to have.