I still have the invitation, a yellowed newspaper article and the gilded program.

I have forgotten many things from the past fifty years but crystal clear is my memory of being in the presence of a king. Here is how it happened:

I was studying nursing at a hospital in Milwaukee. My boyfriend was a seminary intern at a Norwegian Church in Minneapolis. A banquet was planned in honor of the King of Norway and my boyfriend was given two tickets!!! And that is how I became a guest at a relatively small gathering of Norwegian Lutheran immigrants, each of us pinching ourselves to make sure it was true, as the king joined us for dinner.

We caught our breath enough to sing the Norwegian National Anthem, “Ja Vi Elske dette Landet”, with tears running down our cheeks. With much less energy we followed with “O say can you see.” Yes, I really did feast with the king and I love the memory of it even today.

This week I was a part of a prayer class where we prayed “Thy Kingdom Come…” I was reminded that in this prayer I was talking to the King of kings.

May prayer always be stunning and never ordinary.