Prodigal Mom

Have you heard the call of the Heavenly Father as He asks you to join Him in prayer for the young ones?  Maybe you are a Mom of a Prodigal yourself? 



I have walked that road, and I know the varying levels of pain and love that are felt inside of a Mother’s heart.  When my oldest child became a teenager, I resisted the efforts of those in our church who wanted to label him as a “perfect example” to all of the younger ones there.  I knew how the pressures of those labels create a false pedestal that we humans simply cannot attain to.  I prayed and tried to warn against those labels.  I even asked those in our church to pray for my son as he was entering his older teen years, to pray that He would be strengthened only in God.  Some of the women there told me to stop worrying, that he was a great kid, and he would do just fine. 

Moms, please don’t ignore those promptings in your spirit when God calls you to pray.

God was preparing me for the many hard days and years ahead for both of my sons.  He was calling me to a season of deep prayer and intercession.  Thankfully, He sent a few close friends who were also walking with prodigals of their own.  He knew that we could not walk the path alone, and so HE brought us together to share the load of praying, even when the church had seemed to fail us. 

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,  by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God,  let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:19-23 

I am blessed today to be part of the team at my friend Anna Smit's site, Beloved Prodigal.  Please come join me there to read more of my story by clicking here.

 I am linking today with:  

Debbie Kitterman, #TuneInThursday 
Barbie Swihart, #Glimpses 

A Mama's Cry

 

 The hospital room was sterile and cold, a shivering place for a young teenager. My Mom had undergone a simple biopsy, but the time for Outpatient Procedures had not yet arrived in our 1970’s small town. So my Mom was awakening from the anesthesia and due to arrive back to her room at any time.  I waited for what seemed an eternity, and as I huddled in the corner, I heard the nurses hurriedly wheeling the cart in, but shouting instructions to several helpers. “Wake her up! Get assistance! She’s not breathing!”  My heart started pounding as the tears rolled down my cheeks. . . 

. . .

I am so blessed once again to share words over at my friend Anna Smit's website, BelovedProdigal.

Join me there to read the rest of this post

by clicking here. 

I am linking today with other bloggers at:

Debbie Kitterman, #TuneInThursday 

Day 14: Hear the cry of the Broken

It was one of those days yesterday.  The kind where even the blue sky cannot chase away the grey in your heart. I offered my heart to God, asking for encouragement, and found sweet words from the heart of a friend to comfort me. Read Joy's post, "Beauty: When beauty brushes by on butterfly wings" from yesterday, and you'll see how God brought the thought of butterflies again to lift my gaze to Him. 

But the Word in my heart did not change, and WAIT continued to be the only direction or purpose I could cling to.  So, in spite of my questions, 

When will the hospital call to schedule the biopsy?

How can our budget handle these continuous additions?

Where will my pain levels climb through all these added stresses?

I chose to accept God's call, and lean in to the WAITING.

And then the washing machine decided to quit working.

Have you been there? Facing the final straw that tries to close off your heart? 

When the small service company was able to send someone within just a few hours, I started to suspect that God had something going on with all of this, and I had better pay attention.  And when the repairman walked through the door, and a JOY at seeing him rose in my heart . . . well, I knew that the Holy Spirit was giving me one of His nudges.

I asked him how he had been doing, because I remembered that a year and a half ago, when he was last here, I had shared about my Rheumatoid Arthritis, and he had shared a little about his own journey with Chronic Illness and Multiple Sclerosis. Over this last year, God had brought him to my mind frequently, and I had prayed for him. So,when he replied that he had had a rough year, and I told him about my prayers, something changed within his countenance, and he began to tell me just how rough his year had been.

This tough almost-retirement-age strong worker, had been brought to his knees by a viscous nerve-damaged pain.  In the middle of almost being suicidal because the pain was unbearable, he had cried out to God, and asked Him for help. And he told me that He had said to God that if He found a way to get him through this, that he would find a way to pay it forward, giving back for the help that had been offered to him.  And, a way did open up! After being told again and again that there was no hope for him, a different neurosurgeon was willing to try a new procedure, one that ultimately brought total pain relief to this man.  He said to me, "You will never know how much your prayers mean to me," and repaired our washing machine at no charge.  

And again, it was the hug that he offered, (how many repairman have you hugged today?) as he walked out the door, that caused the tears to flow over my face. 

We are not walking alone through these days. Whatever the Season you now face, there is a purpose to your path

that is meant to be shared.

And there are prayers to be offered that only

YOU

can speak.

What if I had ignored God's nudge to pray for that repairman, saying that he was only a brief acquaintance, and 

what good could my prayers possibly have, anyway?

Oh, I am sure that God would have answered that man's cry, but I would have missed out on sharing the miracle,

and finding God's comfort for my own heart 

in the process.

If you are the one hearing God's nudge to pray,

or if you are the one crying out for mercy,

please know that my prayers go out for you today,

my friend.  

 

Psalm 140:6 (NIV) I say to the Lord, “You are my God.” Hear, Lord, my cry for mercy.

Perhaps this song will bless you as it has blessed me:

(And, oh, right after the repairman left, the hospital called to schedule my Biopsy for next Monday. How's that for God's timing?)

Today is Day 14 for the #Write31Days Challenge

and this journey of #31Days of Listening with Chronic Illness

My heart is blessed that you are here with me.

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