3 posts tagged “prayer”

I am writing to request prayers for the family of a friend of mine.  She's been my sister's best friend since they were in grade school.  Her husband died suddenly and unexpectedly today.  They have two young kids and had just moved to a new city for his job.  Please pray for this family.

Paul talked to the Corinthians about his affliction.  He called it a 'thorn in his side' to keep him humble because of the great things he knew of heaven.  This is a good meditation for me. 

2 Corinthians 12: 9-11 (NASB)

 "9And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness " Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

 10Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

I have such a hard time giving up control.  Or admitting that I can't do everything anymore.  I was driving to church (a scenic route) and saw an old, run-down, probably unoccupied house on a beautiful piece of land.  I immediately thought to myself that we could buy something like that and I could demolish it.  It would be easier if you donated the building for local fire-training first.  Save a lot of money.  Then we could build a small perfect house there for retirement.  It would be fun.  After all I used to do this every day.  (mental crash to a halt)  This only took a few seconds to pass through my mind.  I actually forgot in the moment.  I miss what I lost every time I have a big job to do around the house.  I'll never quit being a do-it-yourself-er.  I was rehabbing my first house long before I was a firefighter.  I miss the action.  I miss being outside and on the go.  I miss being so strong.  When will I quit thinking this way?  Maybe never.  Maybe I'm doomed to forever sound like Uncle Jim reliving his Glory Days while everyone else rolls there eyes.  I try not to talk about it. 
The medical training I went through was not without purpose in the bigger picture of my life.  I am very capable of caring for my child and his particular problem; I really get it.  I lost my career.  But I appreciate being able to raise my son every day as a stay-at-home mom.  I was injured and can't carry a pregnancy.  But if I hadn't been, we may not have taken this path to our second child.  It would have been much easier to 'home-grow' one again.  I think that we were meant to grow our family through adoption.  As hard as it is to wait, I believe we are on the right path.   I believe that God will bring to us the child that we are meant to parent. 
When I was younger I hated when people said, "everything happens for a reason".  It seemed cold and just awful.  Now I am reminding myself of this constantly.  It helps me face this huge unknown time until we meet our second child.  His Grace is sufficient for me.  Every day.  And during this long wait.
Happy Easter.

With the weather change, I had a few more days of feeling old, like my body aged ahead of me.  It makes me mad at my body.  I feel like it has betrayed me.  I was indulging some self-pity.  Then I went out to a mom's group.  Me and another mom were talking about the crazy fear when our children were born ill and undiagnosed for however long.  The shock at what milk allergy meant.  I have talked to three other mom's now that have gone through the serious milk allergy problem.  And more with other allergies.  It's like an epiphany every time.  Some one else knows what you went through.  How terrified you were for your child.  They've been through the learning curve, where you make your child sick a few times because you misread a label.  (This is much easier since the 2006 food labeling laws that replace chemical names with "Milk")  So we were going on.  There are two other mom's in the room and we don't know each other intimately.  One of the other moms tells us how she is struggling with the decision to have her 2 yr old daughter's blind eye removed.  The little girl has been blind from birth in one eye due to a growth.  Now the eye is deteriorating and they will have to take it out.  They have been hoping she would grow big enough to get donated corneas before this happened.  I had to stop and think about her reality.  I am so caught up in my own life and what I feel bad about.  When the truth is, we are very blessed.  We have our son's problem under control.  And I am glad to be able to stay home and raise him, no matter the circumstances.  But we don't always get dealt a hand that we can improve.  I pray that we can manage what comes our way, and so far we have.  I need to be more thankful for that.  I am not comparing our children's illnesses at all.  And I won't fall into 'poor them', 'I am thankful that I don't have it that bad'  because it is pure crap.  But it struck me how I worry so much about us that I am not looking beyond my own situation, again.  Today my sister sent me a little note that says, "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called."  Well I need to be shown both what to do and how to do it.  And still I have to trust that God will help me in all things.  He's got his work cut out for Him, because I seem to need every life lesson several times in the remedial class.
Please pray for this family as they are managing this hurdle in their life.  Pray also for me that I can keep my eyes to heaven (and my head out of my a##).