My Religious Coworker -- I

So I had this devoted coworker, P. She's a very nice person albeit that fact that she's a devoted Catholic -- now I made this statement for a reason. She likes to pray for me a lot and by that I mean "excessively," over any thing and every thing.

"I moved this weekend."
"I prayed for you."
"My husband is looking for a job."
"I'm praying for him."

Huh?! We all know that God doesn't quite work that way, assuming that is one to begin with.

Really, I respect other people's believes. As I have said in one of my earlier blog, some people need to have a faith, something to hold on to, a meaning of life even if it's a make-belief. More power to them. But by the fiftieth time someone prayed for me AND made a point of telling me about it, I am starting to find it a bit irrating. After all, isn't "I'm praying for you (to my God)" a sly way of saying, "My God is the real one"? Albeit the fact that I don't have a specific religous belief, this is starting to get on my nerve.

I mean, it doesn't even have to be God. Anyone who talks about any one subject incessantly will eventually get on my nerve. For example, a girl I used to work with had this one temporary job that she worked at for some three to five months that she absolutely loved. And any and every conversation with her has something to do with this said job. Is there nothing else in her life worth mentioning other than this job that she once held? Regardless of the subject, if certain someone is constantly talking about her husband or her kids or her dogs it will get onto my nerve equally.

The particular subject of God just has an additional touch because they always have this air of "rightousness" about them. The first two friends I made at this (temporary) job were D & P. The first time the three of us go out to have lunch together, D said to me, "P is very religious." I supposed what she was really trying to tell me is, "Please don't say anything that'd offend her as far as her religion goes." At the time I thought it was odd or her to make such a comment. Evidently D knows me a lot better than I do, because now I am finally getting to the point that I feel the need to make a point about my "religious" belief (or lack thereof) every time she clarifies hers.

Finally, the last time she said "I prayed for you" I responded in a very polite and joking manner, "it's very nice of your to pray for an atheist." When she stopped praying for me (or stopped telling me about her praying for me) for the two weeks that followed, I thought I have finally gotten my point across. Boy, was I wrong.

(to be continued)