It’s gonna take more than pickles

I’m not writing this post to say, “Oh, I’m so great. I’m doing something really nice.” I just wanted to:

1. Bring more awareness to a troubling situation

2. Reflect on a sweet little memory

You may recall that I’m responsible for saving the life of "Baby Jessica" who once fell into a well in Texas back in the 80s. I wasn’t there but I made a deal with God. I told him that I would eat the pickles on my cheeseburger at Wendy’s if he would just get Jessica out of that well. And I HATE pickles. Not so much now, but I really despised them then. It was a HUGE sacrifice for ten-year-old me. But ya know what? Baby Jessica got out of the well and it was totally worth it. She still hasn’t sent me a thank-you note.

So now some other people are trapped underground—the miners in Chile. When I first heard it was going to take months to get them out, I really had trouble sleeping. I was totally freaked out that 33 men were stuck in a cave, 2,500 feet below ground. But then I saw that video and realized they could stand up, walk around and even smile.

 

 

While the conditions weren’t as horrific as I first imagined, it’s still awful: it’s hot, confining and they’re gonna be down there for who knows how much longer? And when the rescuers do finally reach them, each miner will have to travel up in a small capsule; the trip could take three hours. I know they won’t care at that point but it sounds scary.

Just like when Jessica was trapped, I felt the urge to DO something. But this time there are more people involved and they’re trapped further down.

Those miners need prayers, not pickles.

So I dusted off my rosary beads and I’ve been praying the rosary every day for the last two weeks. One day I missed praying it so I did it twice the next day. I’m hard core.

Embarrassingly, I’ve been Catholic for eight years and I can count on one hand how many times I’ve prayed the rosary (and I still would only need my thumb and pointer finger).

I found this great little guide that explains how to pray the rosary. It takes about twenty minutes. Sometimes I do it in the morning, sometimes right before bed. Now I barely need the guide anymore. Praying the rosary is sort of like meditating—it’s calming and you feel like you’ve done something purposeful. And since it’s divided up into five sections, I use two sections to think about the miners and the other three for other prayers—missing children, victims of natural disasters, sick people, even some of you reading this blog.

I’m not asking everyone to pray the rosary. But just remember the miners in your prayers. Thinking about them really helps to put things in perspective. For instance, is my two-year-old throwing a tantrum really that big of a deal compared to being trapped underground for months?

Until they’re rescued, I plan to pray the rosary every day; I pray for their sanity, their comfort, for the rescuers and for their families. And maybe even when they’re above ground, I’ll try not to let my rosary beads gather dust again.