Lots of one-liners kept popping up with this Story during the week, pretty much depending on what was going on at the time. It was an involved week, especially with calls to the ICU.
Prayer has always been an important part of my life, and it has always been a developing process, always changing. So much of my journey has led me, often kicking and screaming, to people I did not want to be with and situations I did not want to be in. Yet, in retrospect, that was where I had to be for any number of reasons.
In the Story Elizabeth praises Mary for believing the Lord’s word to her would be fulfilled. Often I believed, and at times I kinda still do, that I did not deserve to have my prayers answered. Yet, again in retrospect, my prayers have changed me rather than whatever or whomever I was praying about. The mere fact that I am writing this now shows this.
Prayer has brought me to difficulties, and also through them. There has been a lot of letting go of what I want, of getting my way, and it has become less and less important. This might be a function of age.
As the Story shows, prayer always involves other people, often whether I wanted it to or not. Often, not always, things have been tough. At times God has been real, at other times not so much.
There is no doubt that one of the filters through which I process life is Viet Nam. Some things that happened there changed me significantly, and I am still dealing with them, sometimes more than others. It’s not all bad. There are some things I learned there that are positive and that I don’t want to forget, and I am a better person because of them. Prayer was very much a part of my life there, and it underwent great changes, for which I am grateful.
What seems to be the “takeaway” from the Story, at least for right now, is that down deep I do believe that the Lord’s words to me are being fulfilled. Not because I deserve it, but because God is being God in my life, and perhaps I can help others to see God being God in their life.
Came across an interesting website just now, perhaps in the context of what I’ve been writing: https://www.nightbirde.co/ Definitely worth looking at.
