The Power of Prayer and a Kept Promise

I was sitting in a waiting room this week, across from me was a little girl. She was holding her forearm very protectively. She looked like an active, busy child, yet there she sat, docile. She looked to be the same age our daughter had been when she broke her forearm. I asked the little girl what had happened and how old she was. Sure enough, she was nine, the same age our girl was when she got hurt.

Where we live, it warms up around Easter and our family is often eager for a change in recreational activity. This particular Saturday I was at a practice while Craig was home with the kids.  He was busy working on something while the kids were dragging out their bikes and roller blades. Sydney couldn't find her safety gear & decided she would be okay without it. This decision was made with complete disregard for the family rule. Honestly, not something she would normally do.

In the middle of the practice, someone came to tell me Craig was at ER with Sydney. I honestly don't remember who it was that said this. I just remember the driving need to be with my daughter.  I excused myself from practice, checked in with my boys, picked a few things up and went to the hospital. There Craig sat with Sydney; she was lying on a gurney holding her arm rather gingerly. 

It was a displaced fracture.  The medical team was waiting for a Respiratory Specialist and other essential staff to come. They gave Sydney a drug that would prevent her from remembering what happened but, unfortunately, would not ease the pain. She begged me not to leave her. After a little while, she was getting silly as the drug took effect. At that point, the medical team was assembling and getting things in order. A friend who worked the ER stopped by and said " Lisa, you don't want to be here for this. She won't remember. Come with me." I couldn't leave, I told him "I just promised her I wouldn't leave. I have to stay." He shook his head at me, " You really, really, don't want to be here, she won't remember. You don't want to see this. She isn't going to remember anything." I told him I couldn't break my promise, I needed to stay. I would know I had broken my promise, and I couldn't live with that.

The respiratory specialist was a mom, she stood next to me keeping watch over her equipment and my girl.  I curled up by Sydney, wrapped my arms around her and began to pray softly into her ear. I think what my friend meant was, you don't want to hear this. This horrid, moaning whimper escaped from my little Peanut as two full-grown men began to pull on her forearm. They were struggling to get it into place and called a third large Doctor to help them get the needed traction. My stomach felt sick as I listened to her moan. I continued to whisper prayer into her ear. They finally finished, and mercifully her cries ended. The respiratory nurse put her hand on my back and said " I am glad you could stay with her. I can't believe you aren't falling apart, I can't help crying!" At that point, tears sprang into my eyes. The team disbanded, and my friend who had stayed said "You did good, I told you that you didn't want to be here." He gave me a hug and went on to work. 

The meds slowly wore off, they gave her a cast and eventually we got home.  A few days later we were sitting in the living room reading, and Sydney piped up " You stayed with me, Mom."

I confirmed that I had. "I could hear you praying in my ear. Thanks for staying Mom."  I told her that she couldn't remember, she had been given meds that would make her not remember. " I remember Mom, you were praying in my ear." As we talked about it we concluded that it was something God made happen to give her comfort in a difficult time.

I was amazed. How could she remember? I asked her questions about other things that happened while she was under the influence. Not one other detail could she remember. In the months that followed, every once in a while she would mention how she could hear those prayers. Every time I marveled at what an Almighty God we have. It showed me that the God of all Comfort is bigger than our fancy medicines. He allowed it to block her memory of the pain but overpowered it so that she could experience his presence and comfort through the prayers of her Mom. Prayers whispered in her ear. What an incredible and powerful gift prayer is. What a Mighty God. 

Who Is My Neighbor?

I have been reading the articles in the news about the Syrian refugee's. I have been scrolling through Facebook to see what is grabbing the attention of people. For over a year I have been praying about and working through my own attitude and thoughts on this issue. 

I cannot ignore the teaching of Jesus. He tells me to love my neighbor. Who is my neighbor? In this "global society", everyone! He tells me to love that neighbor as I want to be loved. hard words. If I call Jesus "My Lord" I am called to give what I have to another in need. The cloak off my back. More than that, I am called to love and pray for my enemy.  For me, as a believer, one group who I think fit into that category, those who I would consider enemies are those who kill my brothers and sisters. I am to pray for them. I am to try and love them...

I know. Our human nature is confused by this. Out inner spirit, the part still struggling to become holy cries against it.

Jesus warned his disciples that they would be persecuted. He told them that the ones who would kill them would believe that they were doing a service to God.

Sounds familiar doesn't it.

Jesus finishes in that chapter saying, "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage—I have conquered the world.”  Fear is not to be my response. Peace is.  In this chapter he mentions that the Holy Spirit will be given to guide in truth.

I need to be at peace. I need to seek the Spirits guidance.

If I had been displaced from my home because of violence and my beliefs, I would hope another Country would give me the chance of a new home. I believe this is the right action. I know there are processes that need to be followed. I believe in those processes. I know we may let some zealots into our country. No system is perfect. That is happening anyway. We can't avoid it. We cannot avoid what is coming. We are to be wise, we are to be watchful, we are to love. I can choose to love as Jesus did. That is what I am called to, to love my neighbor and meet what needs I can. I am called to show love to my enemy and show what love I can.

What My Toddlers Taught Me

Toddlers are bubbling with energy and curiosity. It is infectious if you let yourself get swept up in the whirlwind of it. Whirlwind, doen't that perfectly describe toddlers?!?

They have a way of grabbing onto life and living it fully! It is a fascinating stage of development. One of my favourites.
How many favourite stages am I allowed??

I loved parenting the toddler years. Don't get me wrong, it was exhausting, overwhelming and loaded with fears that I was doing it all wrong and scarring my precious littles. I was able to enjoy it in spite of the chaos that exists. Who thought it was a good idea that humans this small should have their own ideas??? It is what makes them fun though!

Here is a little of what I learned from my toddlers:


1. Live in the moment. We have fancy words like mindfulness now. No matter what you call it, enjoy where you are, who you are with and what you are doing. If you have forgotten how, hang out with a toddler for a while.

2. Believe the best about others. If you know a toddler, they are usually quick to label someone a friend or nice. I love that they default to believe the best about others. It is beautiful. If evidence arises to contradict this is presupposition it is reevaluated. Otherwise, this is the assumption they operate under, not a bad way to take on the world!



3. Embrace curiosity! This is one of my favourite traits of toddlers, everything is a mystery to be discovered. Feed your mind, keep learning and discovering!

4. Take time to enjoy the wonder of it all. It doesn't matter if there is a schedule or if there is some- where to be, if something wondrous is discovered or experienced, a toddler always has time to enjoy it. Fully!!

5. Smile and move along! It doesn't matter if they fall and smack their face or spill something all over themselves. If you smile, they smile back, pick themselves up and keep going. When does that change? Why do we have to relearn how to move on from a mistake or a bump?

6. Keep moving until someone puts you to bed or you fall asleep spontaneously. Those little legs and hands never stop moving, they are busy, busy, busy. They don't need to train to do a marathon, everyday is a marathon!

7. Be friendly. I love how toddlers are enthusiastic to greet people. I love it when I am grocery shopping and a little one says hello to me. Why do we stop saying hello to people?

8. Play! It really is a great stress reliever! It doesn't have to be fancy, the kitchen pots and pans will do :)

9. Stand up for yourself. Okay, we probably don't want to scream when someone takes something of ours or hit the offender. Consider this though, it is rare that a toddler will accept injustice.  It is alright to respectfully let it be known that we do not appreciate being treated unfairly or poorly.

10. Faith. Our children believed God could move mountains, heal the sick, be their protector and defender. It was simple to them and they believed passionately.  As they have grown they have had to intellectually explore. They have tested truth and deepened their faith. They still believe God can move mountains and heal the sick, but at some point we all struggle. We are afraid to ask God in case he says "no" or "not yet". Toddlers get that answer and it doesn't shake their faith.  At some point we have to continued to hold onto that first initial step of faith. Believe.

Needing More: Thoughts on Ashley Madison

So, scrolling through Facebook last week a good friend had posted this article. It has haunted me. I have been late in my post because I was mulling. To sum it up, after 33 million Ashley Madison accounts were leaked, Avid Life Media reported the following week that hundreds of thousands of new accounts started. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS! People know the risk of being exposed and yet hundreds of thousands signed up to arrange "discreet" affairs to cheat on the one they are already with. The fear of being caught must add to the thrill of infidelity. 

I have to admit, I don't get it. When I heard about the exposure of the 33 million, I felt sad. So many people affected, devastated by hurtful choices. I was sad at people's willingness to condemn and point fingers. It is all just, UGH!

Then I read this article and all I could think was " What are people thinking?!" Some people took their lives as a result of being outed, the pain of many was exposed, and now Hundreds and Thousands are signing up, for that? What is happening? Does no one stop to think of the consequences? 

We have everything! Seriously. We lack nothing. We have some notion that we deserve what we want with no thought for anyone else? Why are we so dissatisfied with life? Why do we seek another thrill? Is our sexual appetite so insatiable that fear of discovery and evidence that it can happen is not enough to expose the insanity?

All I can think is that people are not satisfied because they have not found what they are lacking. " I still haven't found what I'm looking for" by U2 has been playing in my mind. Over and over.

As I thought about this, I wondered do I recognize this behaviour as the conduct of desperate people who are in need of more? Do I see this behaviour as the choices made by people who are longing for something out of life and not finding it? Do I recognize the desperate need of souls that were made for more?  Do I see people who are in need of an anchor that holds fast in a world that is tossed around by longing, emptiness and unreliable feelings? Do I feel compelled to have compassion? Where does this leave me as one who knows the one who offers fullness of life? 

The heartbreak I have felt over this has burdened me. I feel compelled to be bolder. I see so many people being pushed and pulled by the tides of the world. I know an Anchor. One who can give steadfastness, purpose and worth. I want to share that hope with others.