Prayer

As a kid, I used to pray for the silliest things. They seemed so important at the time. Let me get an A on a test. Let that boy like me. Let me win that 400m race. Me, me, ME!!! I didn't get old back then, because I didn't realize I was a self centered kid.

But as I've aged, my prayers have changed tremendously. Some of it has to do with maturity, but a lot of it has to do with understanding that sometimes God's plan is better than anything we could have imagined. It takes a lot of strength to let go and let God. He's slowly convinced me that he has it all under control.

As I've gotten older, those around me have too. Or they haven't. Death is something I have had to learn to cope with. When I was younger, very few people died around me. Some families have a lot of loss. Fortunately mine did not. But that meant I lived in somewhat of a fairy tale world for a long time. It meant I had to learn to integrate death in my life as an adult.

I still haven't had a tremendous amount of death in my life considering. But the few that I have lost has been painful. The most painful of course was my Mom. When you lose a parent, you lose a definition of yourself. I am no longer a daughter to my mother. That is a powerful connection.

When she first died, I remember being so angry that we didn't see the warning signs of her sickness. I still wanted her with us. But then I stopped to realize that if she had lived and has some sort of disability from the heart attack, she would have been miserable. I had to remember to not be selfish.

I have to be grateful that God followed the natural order of things and took her first. I don't think she would have survived the loss of any of her children or grand children. It was a small price to pay to mourn her so she could avoid that kind of pain.

And that's the way my prayers go now. I try to take the ME out of it. I don't have prayers that direct a specific outcome. Again, HIS plan is better than mine, and I just have to open my heart to it.

I pray that HE will wrap his loving arms around those that are in need of him - the sick, the injured, those in need for whatever reason. I pray for those family, friends, and loved ones trying to support those in need. And finally I pray for those that have lost someone or something that has left them lonely and in pain. I end with a thank you for all the blessings he has bestowed upon me and my loved ones. A simple prayer, but effective nonetheless.

We are all born. We all die. None of us make it out alive. I have seen the power of prayer create miracles as it seems God's will is the same of those praying for a specific outcome. I have seen the opposite. Whatever your prayer tonight, know that there is a God listening and wrapping his living arms around you.