A Word from Wordle?

I was headed to the kitchen of my parent’s Florida home, when I noticed their bedroom door was ajar. It was after ten, past their bedtime, which was curious. I peeked through the opening and caught sight of the two of them on their knees side by side, heads bowed. They were in their late 80s at the time, and kneeling would have entailed some bone creaking, but this humble bedside practice must have been a routine for them. Now decades later, this image has remained with me.

My personal stance when praying usually entails lying flat on my bed. And my prayers are of the distracted sort, flitting from a heartfelt request to clicking my Amazon app or starting the day’s Wordle, assuming I don’t fall back asleep first.

Yesterday, though, I received a message from God. I was reading about Joshua “falling on his face to pray” and this reminded me of my parents kneeling by their bed, approaching God in a posture of submission. But rather than following suit, I did my usual praying-while-flat. I probably dozed (our puppy is on Eastern time and thinks that 5AM in Chicago is actually 6AM). Then as was my custom, I began the Wordle for the day. It was a challenging one, but on the fifth try, I solved it.

The word was “KNEEL”.

Did God just speak to me through Wordle? Well, he has spoken through a donkey and a burning bush, so why not a NY Times puzzle?

Although we can converse with God throughout the day in any setting or position, sometimes kneeling reminds us that we are reliant on him for the very breath we take in — he oversees our finances, our health, our food, our being. He remains the God who fashioned the stars, but yet cares for the birds, numbers hair strands, and uses puzzles.

The very least I can do is kneel in his presence!