Beads

Have you ever heard of Anglican Prayer Beads?  Have I mentioned them before?

I don't remember when I first heard about this tool for prayer -- maybe on someone else's blog.  I've made several sets (one of them pictured to the left), and I've been given a purchased one as a gift.  I've bought two sets and given them as gifts.

The pattern of the beads is a cross, a bead right above it, four larger beads in a circle with seven medium beads between each of the four larger ones.  The smallest beads sit between the medium beads as spacers.  I have found the number of those smallest beads to be dependent on the size of the circle you want -- bigger circle, more smaller beads. 

I had a set with me on the last Emmaus Walk I was a part of  (I probably always take a set with me for a Walk).  I had it on my wrist -- looked like a bracelet -- but someone saw me fiddling with it and asked if it was a rosary.

It's not a rosary at all.  The only two things that make it similar to an official rosary is that it has beads and is used for prayer.

I find it to be a helpful tool in prayer.  I have a specific prayer I use with it, but I chose it (unlike a rosary, which has a specific pattern of prayer).  It is a great centering devise, and repeating that prayer calms my mind and quiets my time with God.  It is kind of my "Be Still" tool.

We had a 40-hour Prayer Vigil at church this weekend, and I took a set of beads with me.  I found a new use for them today.  As I sat there, I realized I had four areas of my life I wanted to lift in prayer -- Family/Friends, Church, Emmaus and Work.  Four areas of my life, four sections of beads.  I just started praying and each medium bead became a specific prayer within that area.  I didn't know what it would be until I got to it -- I wonder if God used it as a way to point me to areas of concern. 

I don't know, but it's a tool I like.  I've actually lost the set in the picture above -- I've probably lost three sets all together.  I have a set at work and one here at home.  Maybe its time to buy some new beads and make another set.