With Apologies To Bobby McFerrin….

One major branch of my extended-family tree has deep roots in the outdoor industry – boating, camping, fishing, hunting, shooting and all that goes with them. I spent more than 30 years writing newspaper columns and magazine features on those things; and God blessed me with the chance to spend six years in Springfield, Mo., working for Bass Pro Shops as the PR contact for Tracker Boats.

It was a fun job – no more fun than my current position, however, which convinces me that God definitely led me there before leading me here. And all along the way – before and after Springfield, as I wrote and worked as a freelancer in the outdoor business (in addition to my day jobs!) – God grew my extended family with wonderful people.

John E. Phillips and J. Wayne Fears, both from Alabama, are among them. They inspired this column and the headline above it. Recently, Phillips – known throughout the outdoor world simply as “Bubba” – posted the following to his Facebook page and indicated that he was doing so with Fears:

“Worry is a conversation that we have with ourselves about things we cannot change. Prayer is a conversation we have with God about things He can change.”

For some reason, I immediately thought of the 1988 song that Bobby McFerrin turned into the first acapella No. 1 hit: “Don’t Worry Be Happy.”

It occurred to me that Phillips and Fears had offered a slight twist on that historic pop recording – specifically, “don’t worry, be prayerful – and you will be happy.”

In that moment, I thanked our Lord for enabling me to see that Facebook post when I did – during Lent, the time when we are called to prayer, fasting and almsgiving on a trek to grow closer to God.

As Bishop Charles C. Thompson notes when discussing the nature of our Church, we are rooted in a “both-and” perspective. From Ash Wednesday through sundown on Holy Thursday (actually with the beginning of Mass on Holy Thursday evening, when Lent concludes), we are not asked to pray or fast or give alms; we are called to pray and fast and give alms.

It’s always and; never or.

Bobby McFerrin told the world that it could worry or be happy. On Facebook, “Bubba” and J. Wayne modified that concept, telling the world that it can pray and be happy.

Listen to my dear friends, and adopt that concept for the rest of Lent. Pray and be happy – because when you pray, you inevitably will have a conversation with God about things He can change.

Please join me in welcoming Antoinette Brinkman to The Message as a book reviewer. She has considerable experience in reviewing the printed word, and we are blessed to have her contributing regularly. You will find her first review – of books on two women saints – on page 9 of this issue.