SAUCIER — By the side of the road

We were going to our daughter’s. We exited the highway and were approaching a stop sign when I noticed him on the side of the road.

He was in his mid-to-late 30s. He had short, dark hair and a closely trimmed beard.

He had pulled off the street to the edge of a field. Neither the hood nor the trunk was up. He wasn’t on his phone.

He stood in front of his car, arms lifted, hands at shoulder level.

I stole another look when I got to the stop sign. Now, I could barely see him, he was kneeling, bending forward with his forehead touching the ground.

I confirmed it with compass on my dash. Facing East, he was a Muslim engaged in one of his daily prayers.

It was around 5 in the evening. If he was a local, going home after work. Why didn’t he just wait until he got there?

If he was traveling, couldn’t he have gone on to find a spot a little more remote and conducive to prayer?

Those questions were just the beginning, as it turned out to be one of those moments inviting you to linger with it, intimating that it has something to teach you.

It was persistent, and I finally surrendered. I quickly learned that he must have been praying Asr, the third prayer of the day.

Muhammad called Asr the “cool prayer.” While sounding like a jazz musician, the prophet was describing the time of day when the scorching Middle Eastern heat begins to abate.

It’s a transitional time when one begins moving from work to family.

It’s also very specific to strengthening personal discipline.

For most, the designated time for Asr is when the length of the shadow of an object is the same as the length of the object.

Long before clocks and apps, this odd prescription tied the disciple to nature by making the exact time observable in nature.

That relationship between the object and its shadow is a reminder of the balance the believer tries to hold between the world and spirituality.

In learning more of what that young man was doing, I found a kinship in the traditional rhythm of the day of my youth in the tolling “Angelus,” grace at meals and night prayer.

Most of all, though, I am grateful that witnessing his faithful practice reminded me that prayer, if it is going to be a source of hope and growth, must be a daily habit.