The prayer I neither sought nor expected
Thursday, November 21, 2013 at 10:57PM 
Roy Nageak said a prayer for me tonight. That was not why I stopped by to see him. I did not seek a prayer. The thought to seek a prayer would never have occurred to me. I just dropped in to see him and Flossie because whenever I show up at their house they always make me feel at home, I knew my good friend Chie would want to see a picture of them and I wanted to hear whatever stories and history they might relate to me. So I stopped in, they fed me, and then Roy told me some good history from up here and down into the Brooks Range mountains.
I had another commitment and all too soon it was time to leave. I told them I expected to come back in late February, assuming that the surgery I was supposed to get months ago but now absolutely must have no later than early January actually happens and I recover in the three-week time period the doctor says I will. Roy offered to say a prayer for me, so I agreed. He then stood beside me, put his strong arm around me, and he said a prayer for me, one filled with great warmth and love.
I am not a religious man, but there was something special in Roy's prayer, something I felt all the way through my body and into my soul. It felt good. I left feeling all would go well and that as big and physically challenging as is the multi-year task that lies before me here in the Arctic, I will ultimately succeed.
The little one with Roy and Flossie is their grandson Ruben Roy, named both for his father and his grandfather. Dr. Chie Sakabara, originally of Japan, now a young wife and new mother, professor at the University of Oklahoma, adopted by Barrow and the North Slope and by Roy and Flossie Nageak as their daughter - this snapshot is for you.
Barrow, Flossie Nageak, Roy Nageak, Rueben Roy, prayer in Alaska, religion
Reader Comments (2)
Bill you are truly blessed. As are the people around you that you love
I love this post. Thank you, Bill, what a beautiful photograph and blog entry. You definitely brighten up my day. Big hello to my family on the top of the world. Cannot wait to see everyone next year. Happy Holidays! Bear hugs.