Veterans Memorial Park
Dickinson, North Dakota
June 21, 2026
Recently, my husband and I spent a week in our hometown of Dickinson, North Dakota. While there, we celebrated Father’s Day and my mother’s 80th birthday, so it seemed only fitting to honor both my father and my mother on those particular days on a park bench, offering up my time and prayers specifically for them.
I try not to use AI to generate a meditation for my park bench prayer, but while sitting on a bench on Father’s Day at Veterans Memorial Park in Dickinson, facing a wall of names that includes my father’s for his service in Thailand during the Vietnam War, I just couldn’t find a quote that really spoke to my heart—in that place and on that day. I confess, AI came through and I had a lovely park benching experience, even in the rain. Sobering to think, however, that had my dad not made it home from the war, I would not exist.
Private home
Dickinson, North Dakota
June 24, 2026
On my mother’s 80th birthday, I opted to use the park bench in my parents’ backyard. While trying to decide on a meditation that day, my eyes landed on this quote hanging on a fence across from me: “Life is not measured by the breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.” How fitting for a milestone birthday, and I am grateful God graced my mom with the energy and drive to hike up White Butte that day (the highest point in North Dakota at 3,506 feet) and have her own “moment” at the top.
My parents have had a solid, steady, unwavering faith their entire lives, and their dedication to daily prayer inspires me to stay committed to this park bench prayer mission. My park benches are precious to me, so honoring my parents on a park bench these two days was extra powerful and peaceful. I love you, Mom and Dad!!