Thursday, January 1, 2015

A Prayer for Me Offered by a Stranger Comforted My Heart




Today I received a gift, by a complete stranger that touched me very deeply.  In preparation to move and downsize I have been selling lots of things on craigslist.  I listed all of my rubber stamping supplies and I got a call from a lady today who wanted to come and see them. 

I don't know how it happens, but somehow I always end up explaining why I am selling things...

"You see... My husband died two years in a plane crash.  I used to scrapbook a lot, but I just can't do it anymore.  It's just too hard to look at all of the pictures..."

And I broke down on the phone with a complete stranger

If my kids had been watching they would have just rolled their eyes and replied, 
"Mom, why do you go there? 
Why do you tell them?"  
They don't like to talk about it, but for me, it hurts worse to pretend that everything is just fine. I have also learned that when I am 'real' with people, that my experiences can help them.  Being honest and open breaks down walls. Often our conversation turns to their losses and struggles and then together as we empathize with each other we both feel a little lifted and more encouraged.  It gives me a chance to bear witness of things that I know to be true... 
of how our trials can be opportunities for growth and betterment...

of how I can feel light in my life when I reach out to others...


 and of how that is healing for me.

But this morning was different. 


I had dreamt of Scott early that morning.  We were looking through coins for my son's coin collection.  I was telling him about everything he had missed over Christmas, and then he kissed me and it felt so real... 
not like a dream at all. 
I knew that I was dreaming and I kept trying to tell myself not to wake up, but in dream like this it never seems to work... 

The reality of the dream just faded away and I was left alone lying in my bed staring at the ceiling. The circumstances of my life hit extra hard this morning.


I rolled over and prayed for help and strength. 


I know and feel there are lots of hard things ahead, and sometimes the weight of that seems crushing especially when I long so desperately to have my husband hold me again... 


to fix everything... 

or at least to be there to bear it with me...  

So with this weight on my mind, I had broken down at the mention of my husband's death.

Then this sweet stranger offered her condolences like so many people do when I tell them my story.  We arranged a time to meet and then she said, 

"Can we pray together before we say goodbye?"
I was touched by her kind gesture. "I would love that," I replied.

This is not the first time someone upon hearing my story has asked to pray for me or with me, but this was the first time over the phone. There was a lengthy pause and then she began her prayer.



Never in my life has a stranger prayed for me


 with so much heart. 

It was a very long and detailed prayer. She prayed for the way to be made clear for my home to sell, she prayed for my children, she prayed for strength for me and for me to feel God's love.  

It was beautiful... 

as if the words were from an angel
and her words pierced me to my very soul.  
The tears flowed as I felt love and light from this simple act of service.  She said and knew things deep in my heart that only could have been made known to her as she felt the spirit as she prayed.

True prayers are not prayers where we formulate the words, but where they are given to us as we speak. Her prayer this morning was one of those prayers. 


Prayers like that are more than words... 


They are powerful... 


They carry with them light and hope and God's love.

I thanked her for such a touching and sincere prayer and told her how I appreciated the light she had shared with me.

After I hung up the phone, I dried my eyes and felt the power in that prayer...
a prayer for me that was an answer to my pleadings with my Heavenly Father that morning.  I had prayed for hope and strength and I had received it through a simple kind act of a stranger... a stranger that had happened to respond to my ad that very morning.

The past two years has taught me how very aware my Heavenly Father is of my life and my needs and how very involved He is in the details. If I just turn to Him and look, I can begin to see that more clearly.

I have thought about this woman and her question..."Can I pray with you?"  

Why don't we do that for each other?

Why are we so afraid of offending that we do not take the time to share real love and compassion with each other?

I have prayed in the homes of the women I visit and I have told strangers that I would pray for them, but I have never done what this woman did for me today...

This gives me a goal and something to strive towards this year.  I need to ask to pray with more people and I need to pray more from the heart.  I need to learn to get out of the way and let the spirit guide my prayers.

I hope to get to meet this woman and share more with her how she touched me, but I also hope her actions have touched you and change you today as well.

How have others prayers helped you?


6 comments:

  1. This makes me cry. I hope I would do something like that. When my brother died and I wasn't even a Christian, a woman drove her motorbike (we were in Taiwan) an hour, even in the pouring rain, to come pray with me and teach me the Bible. I will never forget that.

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  2. thank you for sharing..I too have had a stranger ask to pray with me after I shared a trial..My prayer is that you will continue to feel the peace and comfort that this sweet stranger helped you feel..

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  3. A little over four years ago, my husband was killed in an accident. I was seriously injured and spent about a week in the hospital. One evening when I was alone in my a room, an young nursing assistant came in to tend to me. She asked if I was a Christian. I said I was. She asked if she could pray for me. I said yes. She knelt on the cold tile floor and prayed for me. I was a stranger to her, but she blessed my life at a very low point. Although I don;t remember her words, I praise God for sending her to me.

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  4. God gave you a long, tight hug. :) I don't know if you've read The Shack. It's such a strange presentation, but offers many deep Truths. From your story, I'm reminded of one small part that touched my heart. The man's little girl was stolen by a serial pedophile, and God has him in a 'spiritual place' where he is being ministered to. He's out walking with Jesus and they come to a waterfall. Through the falling water, the man can see his little girl alive and playing a game with her two older siblings, His children are laughing and interacting, he turns to the Lord and asks if it is real. The answer; For the little girl living in Heaven who misses her brother and sister, it is absolutely a real visit because she missed them and wanted to see the ones she loved. But for the older children, it was all in a dream. I lost my mother in 19917 and always enjoy her visits to my dreams though it seems they come less now. I'm always so excited to see her, and though I know it IS a dream, and am aware of that IN the dream, but enjoy her thoroughly and don't want the dream to end. SO I believe it was you husband who came to your dream that morning and kissed your lips. He loves you so. :) I cannot imagine and admit I do not want to try the pain and suffering you've had to walk through (crawl through / be carried through). I don't allow the thought of losing my husband of 46 years to linger in my mind for even a second. I've been blessed to have him for my best friend for 48 years, since we were 16. :) I'll keep you in my prayers, Veronica. God bless you and carry you whenever you need Him to. Your words will surely minister to many. Blessings from Texas! :) {{{{{{{{{Veronica}}}}}}}}}

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  5. Prayers for you Roni, that you will stay strong and your missionary sons will continue to serve in faith and your children at home will be kind and deal with their loss and yours in love. I think of you often and remember Scott too! I think those kisses are as real as he can make them!

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