How quickly our lives can change! A sudden illness, accident, disaster or loss can occur at any time, but God is always with us, no matter what happens.
The Lord holds them by the hand (Psalm 37:24; NLT).
You hold our hands, And light our path,
You hold us dear,
And help us pray,
You hold us close Till our last breath:
We’re safe with you, In life and death.
Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord (Romans 14:8; NLT).
References
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).
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me (Psalm 23:4; NKJV).
As soon as I started to pray last Monday, fresh prayers began to arrive. It was all I could do to keep up with them, and at one point, to my horror, I thought I had accidentally erased a whole piece. Fortunately, I managed to find it in the end. Here is one of the prayers I received that day:
Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord (Romans 14:8; NLT).
Heaven
Is being one with God –
From genesis
Before our birth,
Through trials and sorrows
Here on earth;
In loss and gain,
In joy and pain –
Forever one
In love.
Heaven
Is being one with God –
Let’s offer thanks,
Rejoice and pray,
And follow Jesus
Every day.
Let’s seek his face,
And share his grace –
Forever one
In God.
Heaven
Is being one with God –
Let’s praise his name
With every breath,
And walk with him
In life and death.
Then, safe ashore,
We will adore –
Forever one
With God.
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them (1 John 4:16; NLT).
Context: God often gives me a special prayer well in advance, ready to post on Christmas Day, but this year it didn’t happen. In fact, I had begun to think there would be no Christmas prayer at all this year. To begin with, I felt I should be able to write something appropriate, but I knew I couldn’t do this without inspiration, so eventually I placed the matter in God’s hands, and let it go.
Then, on the 21st of December, I received a long Christmas prayer, which was very difficult to put into words, to condense, and to edit. Eventually it took the form of a spoken exchange. The first section pictures Christ speaking to us, whilst the second pictures us responding to him.
✝️ She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them (Luke 2:7; NLT).
I was born in the shadow of want,
And lived in the shadow of fear.
I worked in the shadow of hate,
But knew that my Father was near.
I wept in the shadow of grief, And prayed in the shadow of pain.
I walked in the shadow of death,
Then rose, to save all, and to reign.
The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever (Revelation 11:15; NLT).
✝️ We all have sinned against you (Jeremiah 14:20; NLT).
Though we dwell in the shadow of sin,
And grieve in the shadow of loss,
We pray, and give thanks, and rejoice, For we follow your way of the cross.
Though we walk in the shadow of death, We trust in your staff and your rod.
Lord, you are here, in earth’s darkness,
So we sing in the shadow of God.
Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings (Psalm 63:7; NLT).
Christmas greetings:
My very best wishes to every reader who visits this website. May God bless you. I pray for you all every day.
✝️ With love, and many thanks for your support, from Ruth xxxxxxx
Context: I’m still very weary after having covid, and am hardly writing at all. So I’m glad to be able to dip into my store-house, and share this prayer with you. It came to me last September:
There is one Lord …who is over all and in all and living through all (Ephesians 4:5-6; NLT).
Lord,
You’re in everyone and everything –
All I see, hear, taste, smell and touch.
You give all I receive,
And you take away everything I lose.
You share all my sensations,
Including pain, fatigue and suffering.
You share all my emotions,
Including joy, fear and sorrow.
Please help me to learn from all I experience,
Both “good” and “bad”.
I dedicate myself to you, and to your service,
Just as I am.
May I take up my cross each day,
And follow your example.
May everything I think, say and do
Express your love.
I ask all this in your holy name.
✝️ Amen.
I will do whatever you ask in my name (John 14:13; NIV).
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: I prepared this blog yesterday at London City Airport, whilst waiting for my flight home, and with a migraine. These hospital trips are well beyond my physical and mental coping ability now, so I’m deeply hoping I won’t have to go again. On the plus side, I’ve met with nothing but friendliness and kindness, and seen how amazingly different people’s lives are in London, compared to my quiet island life.
Anyway, I dipped into my storehouse for this short poem, which arrived a few days ago:
I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid (John 14:27; NLT).
Peace in sickness,
And in pain.
Peace in sorrow,
And in loss.
Peace in anguish,
And in fear.
Peace in dying: You are here.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me (Psalm 23:4; KJV).
References
He arose,and rebukedthe wind,andsaidunto the sea,Peace, bestill. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm (Mark 4:39; KJV).
Be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20; NLT).
Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).
Context: I’ve been struggling badly since a new drug was added to my cocktail a week or so ago. Amongst other side-effects, it made me unable to concentrate, or to pray, and therefore, unable to write. Worst of all, it made me feel that life was no longer worth living.
However, yesterday, with medical help, I reduced the quantity of this drug by 50%, and today, to my great joy, I found I could both pray, receive inspiration and write again.
Tomorrow I hope to post what I was given this morning, but for now, here is an astonishingly appropriate piece I chose and prepared last night, with no idea that my state of mind might be about to change.
This prayer arrived very early one morning some weeks ago, when I woke at dawn and couldn’t go back to sleep. The photo is the view from my bedroom window that day:
My God turns my darkness into light (Psalm 18:28; NIV).
You turn my darkness into light,
My sickness, into health;
My weakness into strength, Lord,
And my poverty, to wealth.
You turn my mourning into joy, My sighing, into prayer;
My loneliness, to oneness, Lord,
My selfishness, to care.
You turn my water into wine, My sinfulness, to good;
My anger, into peace, Lord,
And my bitterness to love.
You turn my losses into gains, My dross, to precious ore;
My death, Lord, to eternal life
With you, for evermore.
In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28; NIV).
References
I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life (John 5:24; NLT).
You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever! (Psalm 30:11-12; NLT).
Context: Yesterday I stayed in bed because of a migraine, and used the time to reply to a letter from a friend. Very unexpectedly, inspiration sprang from our correspondence, so I’d like to share with it you:
Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go (John 21:18; NIV).
Serious illness and ongoing deterioration change our lives in countless ways, but with God we can slowly face and accept this, learning to live within each fresh limitation.
There can still be joy in our hearts, but there can also be regret, sadness, frustration and even anger about all that has been lost.
The Lord gives and takes away, but we can praise and thank God, no matter what happens. As Mother Theresa said: “Give whatever He takes, with a big smile.” Fortunately, loss and suffering can also bring good into our lives. For example, they can teach us patient endurance, and deepen our understanding, sympathy and love for others.
Speaking more personally now, Mother Theresa’s words have to be my watchword, because I have no control at all over what God chooses to take from me as I progressively lose my physical and mental capacities.
Work, whether paid or unpaid, used to give structure and meaning to my life. It also generated a sense of a separate selfhood, though this is of course, temporary, and, in the long term, illusory. However, as some of you will know, I have recently had to change the way I manage my website, because I no longer have enough energy to spend whole days writing each blog. At present, I can still post each day, but now in the form of a spiritual diary, rather than referenced poetry and articles. It’s not quite the same as before, though, and my sense of “self” is considerably diminished, as is my feeling that existence is meaningful. Gradually, illness and the limitations it imposes are taking over all aspects of my life.
In time, whether through my spiritual development, through dementia, or through death, I will lose my illusory sense of selfhood in God’s overwhelming greatness. Then I will be set free into eternal oneness with the Lord.
Sometimes I hope this will happen soon, dreading a long future of increasing dependence and becoming a burden to others. However, my release from exile will come when God decides: not a moment too soon, and not a moment too late. Until then, the Lord will see me through whatever each day brings.
A reading: Ecclesiastes 12:1-8; TIB
Remember your Creator while you are still young, while still innocent, before that time of life when you say, “There isn’t pleasure anymore”;
before the sun dims, as well as the moon and the stars; before the clouds return once the rain stops;
before the day when the house guards tremble, and the mighty are bowed low, and the millers stop for lack of help, for the day darkens at the windows;
and the front doors are shut; when the sound of milling is faint; when the chirping of the birds vanishes, and the singers are silenced;
when you become afraid of heights, and dread walking in the streets; when the almond trees bloom, the grasshoppers are sluggish with food, and you lose your appetite; when you go to your eternal reward, and the mourners go about the streets;
before the silver cord – a sign of life – is snapped; or the golden bowl – a sign of life – is broken; or the pitcher at the well – a sign of life – is smashed, as well as the pulley;
or before dust returns to the earth as it was at the beginning, and before God rescinds the breath of life.
“Completely illusory” says Qoheleth. “Completely illusory! Everything is just an illusion!”
Context: Today’s prayer is linked to yesterday’s (https://wp.me/p45bCr-c0w), which divided itself in two, with the second part then taking on a life of its own. The process reminded me strongly of learning how an amoeba divides, in school biology! Here is the result:
This is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
(2 John 1:6; NIV).
1. I’m walking in your love, Lord God,
I’m walking in your love.
One with you before my birth,
One in exile, here on earth, One with you in heaven, at last:
I’m walking in your love.
2. I’m living in your love, Lord God, I’m living in your love.
One with you in joys and tears,
One in troubles, tests and fears,
One with you in all you send:
I’m living in your love.
3. I’m resting in your love, Lord God,
I’m resting in your love.
One with you in loss and gain, One in sickness, grief and pain,
One with you for evermore:
I’m resting in your love.
Truly my soul finds rest in God (Psalm 62:1; NIV).
References
1. Show love to the LORD your God by walking in his ways and holding tightly to him (Deuteronomy 11:22; NLT).
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me (Psalm 23:4; NKJV).
2. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them (1 John 4:16; 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).
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again (Psalm 71:20; NRSV).
3. This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15; NLT).
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30; KJV).
Context: The stresses and strains of yesterday inevitably triggered a migraine, so today I’m being as still and quiet as possible. Whilst praying without words just after 6am, today’s blog arrived very easily and gently, for which I was very grateful. Then, to my astonishment, it divided in two, one part for today, and one for tomorrow.
Believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God – there never has been, and there never will be.
(Isaiah 43:10; NLT).
1. I believe in you, Lord God,
Yes, I believe in you.
One with you before my birth,
One in exile, here on earth, One with you in heaven, at last:
Lord, I believe in you.
2. I put my trust in you, Lord God,
I put my trust in you.
One with you in joys and tears,
One in troubles, tests and fears,
One with you in all you send:
I put my trust in you.
3. I live with you in love, Lord God,
I live with you in love.
One with you in loss and gain, One in sickness, grief and pain,
One with you for evermore:
I live with you, in love.
We live in fellowship with the true God.
(1 John 5:20; NLT).
References
1. I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life (John 5:24; NLT).
2. In you, LORD my God, I put my trust (Psalm 25:1; NIV).
Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me (John 14:1; NLT).
I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? (Psalm 56:4; NLT).
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me (Psalm 138:7; NKJV).
3. I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people (2 Corinthians 6:16; NIV).
