How Godric journeyed home again and Aedwen's dream

"She [Burcewen] did not speak her plea, for like our prayers to God, the deepest prayers we humans ask of one another speak but silence for their tongue."
One of the sub-plots that weaves throughout the tale is one of family, of love and loss. Burcewen is the one whom Godric loves most; she is his sister. Family relationships tend to be difficult, convuluted if only because of the sheer amount of time we spend with each other. And yet it is often our family that knows us least because we almost expect them to hear the words we cannot say. "I love you," we think to ourselves, but the words don't quite make it off our lips. "I miss you," our hearts cry, but the words get choked by the lump in our throats.
It is no wonder, then, why our relationship with God also tends to be difficult, muddled because of the sheer amount of time we spend together--and I don't mean the time spent in church. If the scripture is true, then God surrounds us whether we make the trip to him or not. He is there, our ever present help in time of need and all of that. There he is in the stars. Walking the side of the road with a sign that reads "Homeless--anything helps." Crying at the funeral of an aunt, or a friend. There he is under the tree, crowds of children playing at his feet and bigger crowds still listening to him teach.
Buechner says, "Listen to your life, hear it for the unfathomable mystery it is." I say, pay attention to your life, see the commonplace for the moment of grace that it is. Recognize the thousands of prayers prayed in the glances of lonely strangers; see the heart of those around you in the smile of your friend. Every moment is a prayer, whether intentional or not, because we are all, at one time or another, pleading with the world to see us for who we really are; and that, in all of its simplicity, is the heart of prayer. A wanting to be known, to be heard.