During the past few weeks on the road, I’ve met people who have offered to say a prayer for me so I may continue to have a safe journey. I’ve gladly accepted, and have participated in several prayer sessions by the road for a safe journey. I’ve been very moved and touched by this experience along the way from complete strangers. One gentleman, a retired police officer, who I was sharing my story with the other day asked me what made me want to walk from Selma to Memphis? I explained it was a calling to remember the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others who fought for civil rights.
The retired officer, Michael Cacciatore, told me a story about a calling he once had to carry a cross through the streets of his community. I searched online for Cacciatore’s story but I wasn’t able to find any references to him in the local area. There are others who have had a similar calling of carrying a cross with wheels around parts of the nation.
Cacciatore said he received both positive and negative feedback from passersby and his employer who asked him to stop or he would have to turn in his badge. Cacciatore said he stopped for a little while but the calling was too great and shortly thereafter he resumed carrying the cross albeit more discreetly, he said, until his retirement from the police force. When Cacciatore asked me if he could say a prayer for me I naturally said yes, and asked if I could record it. Here’s a recording of Cacciatore’s prayer for me.
