Gift from a prayer, and thoughts about faith & religion

A Friend offered a prayer today during our Silent Worship that went something like this:
O, Gracious One,
I come here today to wait for you in the Silence.
We all come here with our quirks, our rushing, and our egos-
Sometimes too big- to wait for you.
And I realize that you're always waiting for us.
Thank you for waiting for us.

Can you understand how this prayer reached into my heart to soothe and heal the pain I've been feeling this week, wondering how long I/we might be waiting for Kyle to have time for us?

As I pondered this prayer, I felt so strongly comforted.
If the Divine One is our role model, then can't I draw on that example to wait patiently, to be calmly here whenever any of our children turn to me?
I do have an easier time with that patience with the other kids. For one, the wait has never been as long as it has with Kyle. Even since they've moved out of the house, it is unusual for me to go more than a few days without hearing something from each of the big girls. We have more of a history of sharing than I have with Kyle. I'm more a part of their lives, because I've always been a part of their lives. Kyle was delighted, at 11, to be able to "really call you Mom now!" And I gave my heart to that precious boy. At 15 1/2, he wants much less to do with all of his parents, and really doesn't want to risk conflict just to spend time with parents. That's certainly normal behavior. Just makes for a very different relationship than I have with the kids who live with me. (I'm blessed to still be able to enjoy morning cuddles with my teenagers fairly often, and Samuel and I share a game of kakuro before school more often than not.)
Another piece of the challenge comes from Kyle's age. He's only 15, he's not "supposed" to be gone yet. That's something to happen at 18, or maybe 17 if he decides to do a student exchange! But he is gone, for all intents and purposes. Hopefully we have enough foundation for a relationship as adults to be established in the future. Only time will tell.

From thinking about LeeAnn's prayer in light of my feelings about my relationship with Kyle I moved on to thinking about faith and unity.

I believe the purpose of religion, the practice of faith, is to bring us into unity with that Divine Presence that waits for us in the Silence-whatever people call that presence, and to bring our actions into alignment with that peace.

I've been reading Bird of Another Heaven by James D. Houston. (I highly recommend it!) The female protagonist, Nani, is a hapa woman (Hawaiian/Native American from one of the California tribes) living (mostly in California) at the end of the Hawaiian monarchy. I bring the book into this topic because Nani knew, followed, and worked to integrate the "religious" practices of her Hawaiian father, her Native American mother, and the Christian minister with whom she taught. Quite a challenge.

I'll continue these thoughts tomorrow. . . I started this post over two hours ago, keep getting interrupted, and it's past bedtime.