On a Wing and a Prayer

Next week I have the privilege of jet setting off to France for a week, and you don’t have to know me too well to know that I’d easily spend a year holed up in a little chateau eating brie and drinking chardonnay if I could!

But this trip has more purpose than a simple vacation. I’ll be travelling with a group of ill and injured Soldiers to Lourdes, France, for an event called the International Military Pilgrimage. Translation: thousands of military members from armies around the world will come together for a week to stand alongside one another and pray for peace in our broken world.

The concept began over 50 years ago during World War II, when French, Russian, British and American soldiers would meet at Lourdes to pray together for peace. A few years later a German chaplain who had been a Prisoner of War for years was discreetly invited to attend, and the tradition was born from there as more countries joined the gathering each year.

So while I’m definitely excited to be reacquainted with real baguette, authentic croque-monsieurs, and crème brûlée, (and to bring back a bottle of Pinot Noir to celebrate with about 5 months from now), I’m even more honored to be able to spend time with a group of people who—regardless of rank, nationality, or creed—want to build unity and attain peace. Talk about powerful!

I also see this as a unique opportunity for me to spend a week free from the distractions of my normal daily life, getting to focus on prayer in a way I normally wouldn’t. And since there are so many of us out there in the same boat, overwhelmed by needs, situations, uncertainty—I’d like to bring your prayer requests with me!

So let me know how I can pray for you—or anyone else you know in need of prayer—and I’ll write it down in my little notebook of intentions! Send a message, email, whatever. And no matter how many pages I fill, I’ll be spending a good chunk of uninterrupted time daily for at least 7 days straight praying for each and every prayer request. Promise.

And I only ask for one thing in return: prayers that I stop procrastinating already and get through a review book or two so I can restore a bit of my deteriorating French (and not fail my group as resident translator)! S’il vous plaît?

The lovely town of Lourdes

"The Notebook" - Filling pages with prayer requests as we speak!