Where Do I Begin?

 Dearest Father God, it did not occur to me that I was missing a golden opportunity to do some prayer journaling while DH and our Little Beastie were visiting a relative. At least, it only occurred to me late in the day. But here I am now.  

My post's title says a lot about me and how overwhelmed I am feeling. Perhaps at another very private time, with more time to dig really deeply, we can talk about this new and unfamiliar stage in my marriage and in our lives. Right now, the urgent stuff right in my face has to do, mostly, with my younger daughter and her dear husband.  

• They are closing on a house in four days! Even for me, this event is the fulfillment of a dream. As I hinted above, it is also an indication of a new stage in my life. Father, it is a father's job, is it not, to provide a place to live for his children. Thank YOU for bringing them to this place so quickly and affordably (at least relative to current housing prices and certainly relative to prices in Philadelphia). May the closing go smoothly; we have hit a few bumps in the road with the gift money we gave them. 
• My son-in-law is taking the bar exam, again, in about 10 days! There is no lack of advice on the Internet about how to do the second exam successfully. He is taking advantage of support and advice. Now he will take advantage of my prayer. He said so!  

God of all knowledge and God of good laws that bring justice and good life, You are also the God of mercy. In that mercy, and in recognition of Tue's heart for justice for the underserved, I ask you to show mercy to him in the taking of the exam. Clear his mind of distractions and distractedness; give him extraordinary and even supernatural recall of facts, principles, concepts, and details; organize his thinking and his writing so that he sees the answers clearly and correctly and presents them effectively. Most of all and above all else, he needs to know that You are the giver of wisdom and knowledge as well as of salvation and eternal life and great love. May he succeed because You lead him, and may he recognize Your graciousness. In Jesus's Name and for His sake--ever more urgent as the Day draws near!--Amen.

• One more thing that has been lurking in my heart and mind: my older daughter and her relationship with that quite excellent man. This issue also reflects my concern about moving into a new stage in my own life; however, my deeper concern is her happiness and, really, their happiness. Not only their happiness, Father, but their effectiveness in being blessings--more effective together, perhaps! (Thanks for his passing his NCLEX exam, too. That was big.)

May You be glorified. Time is short, and the urgency of salvation has never been greater. Give me wisdom and endurance to be a good example and a good witness to Your love and mercy. In Jesus's name, for the sake of the Kingdom, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, may I pray and go forth. Amen.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Solitude and Silence

 Good morning, Father! It is currently 9:13 a.m., and DH is at the church's Men's Breakfast. I have a client at 11:30 a.m. on Zoom (virtual),  and I am not ready as far as grooming and hygiene.  But of course, this time with You is more important, and the opportunity does not always or often present so well.

I have chosen to remain "deaf" for this time to make the experience of silence more real, too.  

Funny coincidence that is probably not a coincidence: My YouVersion plan reading *and* the lesson I am teaching in Sunday School tomorrow are both from Matthew 5:13-16, "Salt and Light." Hmmm.

A little stream of consciousness? I am fairly sure You don't mind--and are not surprised by anything I am thinking anyway.

There are a bazillion things that swirl in my head for prayer.  Catching any one of them sometimes makes me feel worse rather than better because then I feel that I have neglected the others, which are perhaps more "important."  How do You define importance, Father?  There are my beloved daughters and their men, my husband, my mother, my sister with dementia, the war in Ukraine, our future with retirement looming, the Afghani family my DH is helping, my clients, my patients...

And then I look back on the list and note that I forgot DH's side of the family, our church, our neighboring city and its social problems.  

The story of Tending the Mountain Spring from the Grace Chapel pastor, Bryan Wilkerson, comes to mind.  (Someday I will find it and copy it into a format where I can reference it directly.) These times of solitude and silence don't present often enough, but at least on a daily basis I have been getting Word time and on a more frequent basis I am practicing and documenting prayer in my YouVersion app. That is, by the way, where I feel guilty praying for one thing and then not another.

Jesus, when You were limited by time and humanity, how did You make those choices?  I see that You took those times away.  Did You pray for Your apostles one by one? Did you pray for the cities and the people You had just left?  Did You anticipate Your next visit in prayer? 

Well, I see, Father, that it is now 9:37 a.m. and I probably need to (relative of the word "should") start with my ablutions.  After all this, I may end with the Prayer of Jabez from 1 Chronicles 4:10 

"Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let Your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain."

(Not really comfortable with the "free from pain" thing, although in a moment of pain, I am sure that I would be pleading for it.) 

I love You, Lord.

9:44 a.m.