The blog I began writing yesterday needs a few more days of work to get it ready for posting, so today I’ve chosen this poem, written a while ago. With several demanding medical issues going on at present, it’s a pleasure to dip into my store of pieces prepared earlier. I always knew they had a purpose, and now I’m discovering what it is!
Love the stranger (Deuteronomy 10:19; NKJV).
In life,
Are you a friend to strangers –
Everyone whose path
You cross?
In life,
Are you a friend to strangers –
Those in trouble,
Hurt, or lost?
In life,
Are you a friend to strangers?
Loving is
Your sacred task.
“In life, Were you a friend to strangers?”
This is what the Lord
Will ask.
In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds (Ecclesiastes 3:17; NLT).
Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:40; NIV).
The Rosary Hospital
To my great pleasure, I took an order for a fiat rosary yesterday, and very much enjoyed making it today. It just needs the finishing touches tomorrow with my new super-sharp trimming shears, a very thoughtful present from my husband.
Today’s blog builds on one of my very favourite prayers. I say it every morning, having come across it many years ago in “Pocket Prayers for Pilgrims”. This little book was compiled by John Pritchard (Church House Publishing; 2011; page 33). Here it is:
Lord God,
Whoever you bring into our path today,
May we see Christ in them,
And may they see Christ in us,
For your love’s sake.
Amen.
Over the years, without even realising it, I’ve made this prayer more personal. Then, when I was saying it with my circlet yesterday (on bead 1/4), I suddenly saw how it could be extended:
Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).
Lord God,
Whoever you bring into my path,
My mind,
And my prayers today,
May I see Christ in them,
And may they see Christ in me,
For Thy love’s sake,
Amen.
All of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:18; NLT).
Having written this down I began to pray again (still on 1/4), but a question immediately flashed into my mind:
Do you really think it makes any difference to God whether we are Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Methodist, Evangelical, Lutheran, or any other denomination?
The answer, of course, isNo – it makes no difference at all, because what God wants is for us to be Christian in the fullest and truest sense of the word. So what does being a Christian actually mean?
Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23; NLT).
It means giving up our selfish ways,
Taking up our cross each day, And following Jesus.
It means growing more like him In all we think, say,
And do.
It means seeing, loving,
And serving him In everyone,
Including those we disagree with,
Or disapprove of,
And those who hate or hurt us.
Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! (Matthew 5:44; NLT).
By the time I’d written this down, I hardly dared to continue praying, for fear of what might follow. However, I needn’t have worried, because I was able to let bead 1/4 go, and to move on, though of course I never know what will come next. In fact, bead 1/5 turned out to be full of heartfelt thanks and praise, for which I was very grateful.
References
Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 19:19; NLT).
We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5; NIV).
Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:49; NIV).
The Rosary Hospital
Today I was able to begin trying out the new rosary-making method I stumbled upon yesterday. This means starting in the middle of the main circlet.
Apart from giving one decade 13 beads, and having to take back a couple of barrel knots to put this right, it worked out well. At the moment, I don’t really understand why it works, but that’s not important. What counts is that it enables me to make two identical knots at the places where the main circle joins the centrepiece, as shown in the photo below. Hopefully, I’ll be able to finish making this rosary tomorrow.
Context: Today’s prayer is linked to “Love”, posted on 9.12.22. Here is a live link, in case you want to look back at it: https://wp.me/p45bCr-d05. It continues to explore my difficulties around feeling lovable, and therefore finding it very hard to believe that the Lord loves me.
You do not break a bruised reed, or quench a wavering flame (Isaiah 42:3; TIB).
Lord,
You’ve never turned on me,
Or said a hurtful word;
Nor have you rejected me,
Or left my cries unheard;
Nor screamed, Lord, as my mother did,
Nor scared me, nor condemned –
So why can’t I accept your love,
And trust you as my friend?
I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me (John 15:15; NLT).
References
He will not constantly accuse us (Psalm 103:9; NLT).
He loves us with unfailing love (Psalm 117:2; NLT).
God is love (1 John 4:8; NLT).
Your nature is love (Eucharistic Liturgy of the Free Methodist Church).
You are my friends if you do what I command (John 15:14; NLT).
Now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friendsofGod (Romans 5:11; NLT).
Context: Today’s prayer came to me a couple of days ago. It’s about how God can use our willingly-offered suffering to help others. This is a mystery I don’t really understand at all, and which I would very much like to know more about:
Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies (2 Corinthians 4:10; NLT).
Lord God,
If my suffering, sorrow
And hurt,
Which I willingly accept
And embrace,
Are of any value
To you,
Please use them
To help others,
Even though I don’t know
How you do this.
And, Lord,
Please enable me
To understand and share
Your purpose.
We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28; NLT).
References
Suffering: Since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering (Romans 8:17; NLT).
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us (Romans 8:18; NIV).
Sorrow: He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:37; NIV).
Hurt: I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other (Ecclesiastes 8:9; NLT).
When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals – one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:33-4; NIV).
Acceptance: Should we accept only good things from the hand of God, and never anything bad? (Job 2:10; NLT).
Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them and accept the insults of their enemies (Lamentations 3:30; NLT).
Rosary-making news:
To my great delight, yesterday I received a box of broken rosaries, chaplets and bracelets by post. I had a very enjoyable afternoon taking them to pieces, and sorting out all the parts I can re-use. Then I made my first rosary for several days. It was a bit of a struggle joining it all up, and I had to start again, but here is a photo of the final result, made for a friend in my spiritual discernment group:
Context: Despite coughing and sweating my way through the night with covid, when I woke next day and began to pray, I received some insistent words almost immediately. The four brief, lifeline prayers included in this blog seem to be virtually all I need now, given my new highly isolated and simplified lifestyle:
“Why so dispirited?” I ask myself. “Why so churned up inside? Hope in God!” I know I’ll praise God once again, for you are my Deliverance; you are my God (Psalm 43:5; TIB).
When I feel alone and blue,
With dismal thoughts I can’t subdue,
This is what I say: I love you, Jesus.
When I feel ashamed and sad,
Full knowing I’ve done something bad,
This is what I pray: Forgive me, Jesus.
When I feel ignored and hurt,
Self-pity turned to high alert,
This is what I sigh: Forgive them, Jesus.
When you give, and when you take,
No matter how my heart may break,
This is what I whisper: Thank you, Jesus.
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18; NIV).
References
I love you, LORD, my strength (Psalm 18:1; CSB).
Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away. Blessed be the name of the LORD (Job 1:21; CSB).
Rosary news
Yesterday afternoon I made a blue and white rosary, but the final stage (the attachment of the crucifix), failed QC. However, one of the best things about learning to make rosaries is the joy of taking them apart so I can re-use the beads for my next attempt.
Context: Early yesterday morning, during silent contemplation, some words started to thrust themselves upon me. I tried ignoring them, hoping they would drift away. However, they became more and more insistent, until eventually I had to write them down.
Their source was a story told during a zoom session I had attended a few days earlier. The meeting was part of a two-year process of spiritual formation and discernment which I recently joined. The speaker described her dear friend’s practice of responding immediately to events she saw as negative by saying, “Thank you, Jesus.”
This approach to life’s many trials and sorrows certainly beats other reactions, such as impatience, anger, swearing, stress, blaming others and self-pity. Accordingly, I have now started using this practice myself.
Give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18; NIV).
So, as soon as anything happens which I feel to be “negative”, I respond to it immediately by saying, “Thank you, Jesus”. With practice, this approach rapidly starts to become habitual. It’s remarkable how quickly it defuses my negative reactions, turning my mind straight back to God, and getting events into perspective.
An example
A good example of this happened yesterday when I wanted to print a single copy of a prayer from my iPad. The printer is in another room, so I couldn’t see what was happening. After a short time I became aware of a characteristic sound: paper crashing to the floor every few seconds. I hurried to the printer, which was churning out page after page.
My old reaction of instantaneous irritation rose up for a split-second, but then I remembered my new practice, said, “Thank you, Jesus”, spontaneously beginning to laugh as I picked up the paper. All the sting of the event had been removed by those three little words. Then I cut the pages in half and stapled them together to make a little notebook, bringing good from bad.
Opportunities for practicing
Here are a few general examples of opportunities to introduce this practice, but I’m sure you can quickly think of many more:
Trivial irritations and frustrations
Minor misunderstandings and disappointments
Spilling, dropping, or breaking something
Making a mistake, getting something wrong
Accidents and falls
Events not working out as I had hoped
Someone hurts me
Failing at something
Delays, postponements and cancellations
Sickness, pain and disability
Undergoing medical treatment
Receiving bad news
Losing the capacity to do something I used to manage, or enjoy
Losing someone I love, or someone I rely on
Feeling depressed, anxious, afraid, or panic-stricken
Three precious words
To these, and more, as they occur, I will now respond as quickly as possible with those three, precious, deceptively simple words: “Thank you, Jesus”. What a difference they make! Why not try it for yourself?
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (Romans 7:25; CSB).
References
The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away. Blessed be the name of the LORD (Job 1:21; CSB).
I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD (Psalm 116:17; NIV).
Should we accept only good things from the hand of God, and never anything bad? (Job 2:10; NLT).
Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows (John 16:33; NLT).
Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you (Isaiah 30:20; NLT).
I want your will to be done, not mine (Luke 22:42; NLT).
Patient endurance is what you need now (Hebrews 10:36; NLT).
Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realise that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life (Ecclesiastes 7:14; NLT).
The LORD your God istesting youto see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul (Deuteronomy 13:3; NLT).
Rosary news:
I’ve run out of cord, but more is on order, so will hopefully arrive soon. Meanwhile, today I put all my kit into an organiser box, rather than having it loosely mixed up together in a tray:
Context: This blog had a rather unusual start in life. It began to arrive just as I was about to leave my hotel room early yesterday morning to walk the short distance to London City Airport. The words I was given were clearly an ending, so I hastily jotted them down, then set off, thinking no more about them.
At the airport, I had a very welcome breakfast, went to my gate and boarded the plane. Just as we were taking off, the beginning of this blog arrived, so I had to repeat it in my mind until the plane levelled out and I could reach for my iPad. By the time we landed, the first draft was largely complete. This is what I received:
You desire honesty from the womb (Psalm 51:6; NLT).
Introduction
I often find it impossible to say “Amen” to other people’s prayers, to join in with printed responses during services, and to sing congregational hymns. This is because:
I don’t agree with what is being asked for, or said.
A prayer or hymn doesn’t speak for me, or doesn’t express what is in my heart at the time.
The language used is formal, grand or flowery: that’s not how I talk to God.
The prayers or hymns are too long for me to take in, or to make my own.
The person leading the prayers speaks so quietly that I can’t tell what they are saying.
The prayers are said so impersonally, or so quickly, that they seem devoid of meaning.
My aims
Reflecting on these reservations helped me to draw up a list of personal aims:
To pray because I want to, rather than because I think I ought to.
To pray for those who come to mind, rather than working my way through a list of those I feel I should include.
Not saying “Amen” to prayers I don’t agree with, instead quietly sharing with God that I don’t concur.
Not joining in with hymns whose words don’t speak for me.
Not ignoring, overriding, hiding, or suppressing my hurts, irritations, disappointments, anger, judgements, fears etc. Rather, I aim to be honest about them, facing their truth squarely with God, who knows exactly what is in my mind and heart.
Not pretending to feel other than how I actually feel. Rather, I aim pray about how I’m really feeling, and what I’m really thinking.
Not saying what I think God wants to hear.
Facing up to things I’ve got wrong and asking God to help me put them right.
Avoiding grand or flowery language, instead praying simply and honestly, like a child.
Not worrying about how short or long my prayers are, as long as they’re honest, genuine and heartfelt.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I aim to follow my golden rule:
Speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ (Ephesians 4:15; NLT).
References
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me (Psalm 139:1; NLT).
As for me, Lord, you know my heart. You see me and test my thoughts (Jeremiah 12:3; NLT).
You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord (Psalm 139:4; NLT).
Today’s reading: Matthew 6:7-13; NLT
When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles. They think God will hear them if they use a lot of words. Don’t imitate them. Your God knows what you need before you ask it.
This is how you are to pray: ‘Abba God in heaven, hallowed be your name! May your reign come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven: give us today the bread of Tomorrow.
And forgive us our debts, as we hereby forgive those who are indebted to us. Don’t put us to the test, but free us from evil.’
NB: I can say “Amen” to this without reservation, apart from disliking some of the punctuation!
My hands have made both heaven and earth;
they and everything in them are mine.
I, the Lord, have spoken!(Isaiah 66:2; NLT).
All of you together are Christ’s body,
and each of you is a part of it (1 Corinthians 12:27; NLT).
1. She is mine!
She’s my body –
So do her no harm.
2. He is mine!
He’s my body –
Don’t hurt, or destroy.
3. They are mine!
They’re my body –
Don’t wound, rape, or kill.
4. You are mine!
You’re my body –
Like me, do God’s will.
I have come down from heaven not to do my will
but to do the will of him who sent me (John 6:38; NIV).
God’swillis for you to be holy (1 Thessalonians 4:3; NLT).
References
1-2. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9; NIV).
3. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you (Luke 6:27-8; NIV).
Thou shalt not kill (Exodus 20:13; KJV).
4. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his (Psalm 100:3; NLT).
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God (Psalm 143:10; NLT).
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10; KJV).
If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine (Matthew 26:39; NLT)
God teaches people through suffering
and uses distress to open their eyes.
(Job 36:15; GNT).
1. You teach, and train, and test us all By sending good and ill –
2. We only hurt ourselves, Lord, When we fight against your will.
3. May we accept our suffering With joy, and thanks, and prayer,
4. Trusting you to help us grow in love, Through all we bear.
References
1. The Lord your God is testing you to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul (Deuteronomy 13:3; NLT).
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth? (Lamentations 3:38; NASB95).
When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other (Ecclesiastes 7:14; NIV).
2. It is useless for you to fight against my will (Acts 26:14; NLT).
You are hurting yourself by kicking against the goads (Acts 26:14; NET).
It’s foolish to fight against me! (Acts 26:14; CEV).
Submit to God and be at peace with him (Job 22:21; NIV).
3. This is my intense suffering, but I must bear it (Jeremiah 10:19; CSB).
Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; NLT).
4. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4; NIV).
