Wednesday Prayers: In Struggle and Disappointment

My life is pretty calm lately.  So much so, in fact, that when friends ask how things are, I'm at a loss for news.  It's quiet, and it's sure boring to talk about, but it's happy.

However, it's not a peaceful time for everyone.  One friend is touched by the sorrowful side of ministry.  Another friend is adapting to disappointing news.  One waits with hope and fear.  Another makes brave decisions, but experiences loneliness in the process.  And we're all still flinching from national tragedies.

This week, my prayers are about love.  That those who weep are comforted, and that joy will come in the morning.  It's a simple prayer, but I like to sit down and spend time picturing each precious person, melting my love for them together with God's, praying that they feel both.

Are you having a gentle week, or do kindness and tenderness feel scarce?  Let me know, and I'll hold you in that warm glow, too.

 

Week's End with Thanks

This week:

- Dave! His birthday was on Wednesday. I'm glad for him every day, but it was fun to celebrate him this week.

- Sunshine! It's colder than heck, but it's sunny, so hooray.

- A Weekend Guest! A very fun high school friend will be occupying our guest room tonight. I love having houseguests.

- Doctrine! Our tiny doctrine class is so much fun, and this week, it was exactly the balm I needed after a rough day at the hospital.

- Nuptials! My friend M is being wed TODAY!!!

- Weekend flowers! This week, I'm loving the little wild daisies.

Wednesday Prayers: Delusions of Omniscience

I have some ugly know-it-all tendencies.  Among them is the pervading frequent occasional conviction that I know what the future will bring.

I rarely assume that the future will bring puppies (I've been pleading with Dave for years now) or rainbows (although rain is always assumed).  Rather, I'm certain that whatever idiocy I've concocted will bring the sky crashing down around my ears.  This usually involves my mouth getting thirty yards ahead of my brain.  (I used to know a miniature dachshund who was hugely incontinent when overexcited.  He was the best metaphor I can give you for my speech proclivities.)

Over the summer, I started a Negative Prediction Notebook.  It looks like this:

This is partly because I buy more perfect tiny notebooks than I know what to do with, but mostly because over time, it's useful to me to see that I'm wrong a lot.  Absolutely, I say and do stupid things, but the earth doesn't start spinning in the opposite direction when that happens.  

My little book is a useful technique, but my ongoing prayer is that I need it less.  I'm praying that I grow to rest in grace a bit better than I do now.  It's important to me to have high standards, but I want to learn that I often get more than one chance to meet those standards.  Sometimes, it's better not to believe I know everything.

Are you praying to know more this week, or to "know" less?  Let me know, and I'll be praying with you.

Weekend Flowers