View from the Plaza Prayer Station: Time Takes Time

New Prayer Station Location  - nice flowers!

In recovery circles we have a saying, "Time takes time."  It seems like a "duh" saying.  But whenever I hear it, I sigh with a deep recognition - right, time does take time, and it doesn't matter how much I want things to move faster, they take the time that they need to take.  Anyone who has tried to build a relationship knows this.  Part of the reason I moved out into the Plaza was to start building relationships.  I have some good relationships with the students who come to the Canterbury meetings and Eucharist - we've had time to spend together and get to know each other.  So why would it be a surprise that the relationships in the Plaza also need time to grow?

Yesterday I was blessed again by a steady stream of visitors, including President Trible who saw the station for the first time.  He thanked me and said, "Please pray for me and for CNU" over his shoulder as he walked into lunch.  I do.  Every week.  In between student visits, during my "campus prayer time," I usually start with him and the administration and then faculty, staff, and students, before heading on to other intercessory prayers.  But I'm finding I have less time for quiet prayer. 

I had a few more "drive by" prayer requests yesterday, students who make a beeline for me, stay standing, and usually ask for prayer for a loved one who is sick or suffering.  These students are often in a hurry, on their way to class or a meeting, but their loved one is heavy on their hearts and so they ask for a prayer.  I don't know them before they come over, and I don't know if I'll ever encounter them again.  We pray for them and their loved ones during the Prayers of the People at Eucharist later in the day, too. Last year Becca Stevens, who is the chaplain at Vanderbilt, told me that I should never feel bad about a ministry of presence.  She said, "They'll find you when they need you."  It seems like they are.  Even when I feel invisible, they are taking notice. 

I also had a continual flow of "chair chatters," people who plop right down in the chair beside me and start to share.  Sometimes they make casual conversation, and other times they start pouring out whatever is troubling them at the moment.  Sometimes they ask me questions; they're so curious about my college experience and what I think about what's going on in their lives.  We talk about vocational discernment, relationships, plans for the future, academic stress, leadership of small groups, and campus events.  Most of them asked me about my fall break and what I had done.

One young woman hadn't come by in a few weeks and said she realized that today was Thursday and she would get to see me.  "I don't know you very well, but I just want to hang out with you."  High praise, in my mind.  I had been wondering where she had been as I had missed seeing her on previous days.  She was living her life.  It takes time to build relationships, and these students have so much on their plates. Today we got to "hang out" and get to know each other a little better. 

Time takes time.  It takes time to find the best spot for this ministry - a spot that's visible but not in the way, with the appropriate amount of shade or sun.  Soon it will start to get cold, and I'll need to relocate again.  It will probably take time for the students to re-find me when I do.  It takes time to build trust, to learn enough information that I don't repeatedly ask what someone's major is or where they're from.  It takes time to establish presence - that I'm not a creepy stalker priest or an "in your face" religious person, that I'm safe and supportive and willing to listen.  It takes time to know and be known.  What a blessing to have this time.