29.8.23: Faith

Tumisu: Pixabay.

Today I’ll let this simple prayer speak for itself:

I love you, LORD (Psalm 18:1; NLT).

Jesus, Teacher, I adore you,
And have faith that you love me.

Help me when my faith falls short:
Lord, listen to my humble plea.

Jesus, Master, I revere you,
And believe that we are one.

Help me, when I’m tired and stressed,
To come to you, God’s only Son.

Then Jesus said, Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28; NLT). 


References 

He loves us with unfailing love (Psalm 117:2; NLT).

We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7; CSB).

At once the boy’s father shouted, “I do have faith! Please help me to have even more” (Mark 9:24; CEV). 

Lord, hear my prayer! Listen to my plea! (Psalm 102:1; NLT).

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe (John 20:29; CSB).

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him (Philippians 3:8; NLT).

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16; NLT).

27.6.23: Praise

FrankySyggy: Pixabay.

I feel so concerned about the dreadful news from all around the world that today I have taken refuge in a personal song of praise for God:

I will praise the LORD,
and may everyone on earth bless his holy name
forever and ever.
(Psalm 145:21; NLT). 

I praise and bless your holy name,
And follow you, my Lord, who came
To set my hard, cold heart aflame
Through love.

Although I’m weary, sick and lame,
Your kingdom is my only aim:
Lord, please replace my sin and shame
With love.

Support my wretched, failing frame,
And neither judge me, Lord, nor blame,
But help my spirit to proclaim
Your love.

It is good to proclaim your unfailing love.
(Psalm 92:2; NLT). 

20.3.23: Are you weary?

Mark Morgan from Trinidad, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Yesterday, through a message from a friend (thank you L.), I discovered Wikimedia Commons, giving me access to thousands of new photographs. I’m so grateful for this, and so delighted to begin sharing them with all who visit this website.

Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest…

Are you weary?
Are you burdened?
Come, right now,
To Jesus.

Are you grieving?
Are you frightened?
He will help you
Face each test.

He is humble.
He is gentle.
He is here
To comfort you.

Are you weary?
Come to Jesus:
He will always
Give you rest.

…Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (Matthew 11:28-30; NLT).


References 

I am with you always, even to the end of the world (Matthew 28:20; WNT). 

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).


The Rosary Hospital

Here is today’s rosary, which I thoroughly enjoyed making:

23.11.22: Covid

Context: I have very long experience of living with chronic illness and fatigue, but it’s interesting to observe how wearing it is to have Covid on top of this. Although I tested negative for the first time last Sunday, my symptoms continue, and the virus certainly isn’t giving up its grip yet.

I’m vividly aware that all around the world hundreds of thousands have died of their infection, whilst countless others are suffering, or have been left disabled. My only coping technique is to say, “Yes”, to God at every moment, and to keep on whispering, “Thank you, Jesus.”

It’s impossible to predict the outcome of this illness for each individual, including me, so all I can do is to put my trust God, who brings good from everything, no matter what happens:

I love you, LORD; you are my strength (Psalm 18:1; NLT). 

I love you
As I wake again
To yet another
Day of pain.
Don’t leave me here
To live in vain,
I pray.

I love you,
And I seek your face.
I long to know
Your warm embrace,
Receive your kiss,
And share your grace –
One day.

I love you,
And I choose your will,
With thanks
For every good and ill.
Lord, help me, please,
For you are still
My Way.

Jesus told him, “I am the way” (John 14:6; NLT).


References 

Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless (Philippians 2:16; NLT). 

The LORD will work out his plans for my life – for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me (Psalm 138:8; NLT).

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek (Psalm 27:8; NIV). 

May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace (Titus 1:4; NLT). 

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16; NIV). 

All of you share in God’s grace with me (Philippians 1:7; NIV). 

I want your will to be done, not mine (Luke 22:42; NLT). 

I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the LORD, am the one who does these things (Isaiah 45:7; NLT). 

When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn (Psalm 142:3; NLT). 

Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left (Isaiah 30:21; NLT). 

1.10.22: Humility

Context: This blog came to me in a split second, when I was washing my face after getting up late. It was a few days after my hospital trip to London, and I was feeling drained, lonely and rather sorry for myself. God spoke to me so personally that I was nearly knocked off my feet:

The whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ (Galatians 5:14; NLT).

  • Keep on offering your love to others, but don’t expect their love in return.
  • Keep on listening to others, but don’t expect them to listen to you in return.
  • Keep on taking an interest in other people’s news, but don’t expect them to show any interest in yours.
  • Keep on showing your sympathy to those who suffer, but don’t expect their sympathy in return.
  • Never try to elicit a caring response from those you think might ‘owe’ you some love in return. It won’t work, and the effort will only increase your sadness and loneliness.
  • When you’re too drained to support others, stop trying. Wait until you have some energy to spare. Say nothing; do nothing; rest.
  • Just keep on practicing Mother Theresa’s teaching on humility: “Accept being slighted, forgotten and disregarded” (reference below).

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love (Ephesians 4:2; NLT).


Reference

Here is a link to my blog about Mother Theresa’s teaching on humility: https://wp.me/P45bCr-7Ew

12.9.22: When I’m rushing

Following my blog about being introduced to my ‘Pause’ button a few days ago (see https://wp.me/p45bCr-ccE), I discovered yesterday that I also have available a ‘Slow’ button, a ‘Stop’ button and a ‘Rest’ button. This is very exciting, because I’ve never consciously recognised, or been able to access, any of these inner control buttons before. Here is what sprang from this healing realisation:

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart…

When I’m rushing,
I press Slow, Lord,

When I want to,
I press Pause;

When I need to,
I press Stop, Lord,

Then I Rest,
Within your hands.

…and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:28-9; NLT).


References

Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed. On the seventh day God had finished all the work of creation, and so, on that seventh day, God rested. God blessed the seventh day and called it sacred, because on it God rested from all the work of creation (Genesis 21-3; TIB).

Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile” (Mark 6:31; NLT).

A life

Greetings to everyone who reads this short article, which describes some of the life experiences underpinning the prayers I post each day on this website.

I was born in the UK, soon after the end of the Second World War, and was the youngest of 3 children. My mother was unpredictable, given to destructive outbursts of rage, emotionally abusive and controlling. Throughout my childhood and teenage years I lived with constant anxiety and fear, and had very little sense of who I was.

When I left home to go to university, I was ill-prepared to cope with independence. I began having panic attacks, though at the time I had no idea what they were. At the beginning of the third year I had a breakdown, abandoned my studies, and returned home. 

After a period of unemployment, I worked in an office, then in a day centre, where I helped to care for people with physical and learning disabilities. One day a client accidentally set fire to the cushion of his wheelchair with a dropped cigarette. In lifting him up, I tore a tendon in my back, leaving me in constant pain.

The only treatment for back pain in those days was bed-rest. After about 18 months of this, I decided to try walking to the shops. Just a short distance from home I had a major panic attack. Although I didn’t understand this at the time, I had become agoraphobic. As with all phobias, the more I tried to avoid my fears, the worse they became.

Despite my constant pack pain and mental illness, my partner and I got married, and I became pregnant. When I went into labour, serious complications necessitated an emergency admission to hospital. The whole experience was traumatic. Afterwards, I developed multiple phobias, and found it hard to cope with the normal stresses of caring for my baby. 

A year later I became pregnant again, but had a miscarriage at about fifteen weeks, leading to emergency surgery. Afterwards, I developed severe anxiety and depression, so my toddler had to go into daycare. 

At this point, I learned that I was agoraphobic. From the local library, I borrowed a copy of “Agoraphobia – simple effective treatment”, by Claire Weekes. Slowly, I began to fight back, despite my mental and physical fragility.

There were further breakdowns along the way, and endless struggles with depression, anxiety, panic and dread. When my son was about seven, I began studying for a degree in psychology, but this time only managed the first year, before the panic attacks became so intense that I was forced to give up.

Along the way, though this seems astonishing as I look back, I did my best to contribute to my family’s finances whenever I was well enough. Without any qualifications, I did the best I could with the skills I had picked up earlier in my life. Over the years I worked as a student landlady, cleaner, and barmaid. I organised children’s parties, ran a dance band, and taught music informally.

Later, I joined a five-piece band, travelling to gigs all around the UK. I quickly learned never to mention my fears, and somehow got through. It was hard, but I did the best I could to have a life. I suppose I unconsciously assumed it was the same for everyone.

Throughout this time, I read all I could about anxiety, depression, panic disorders and the factors underpinning them. I made daily efforts to face my fears in a graded way, building up my tolerance until I could walk to the centre of my home-town, visit a supermarket, and drive a few miles alone.

Realising I would never be able to cope with the stresses of full-time study, I began attending an adult education centre. Slowly, over a period of seven years, I  worked to gain a certificate in counselling, an advanced certificate, then a diploma. During this time I also entered therapy, worked as a volunteer counsellor, and tried to gain insight until the origins of my mental issues. Meanwhile, I continued to push against my boundaries by starting to travel on trains. Essentially, I managed to live with my fears through dogged efforts to confront them.

Once qualified, I began work in the National Health Service as a counsellor, later beginning a part-time master’s degree. My academic results were good, but the stress of achieving them was very high. 

Unfortunately, half-way through the two-year course, I developed Grave’s Disease. Too ill to work, and deteriorating rapidly, I had emergency surgery to remove my thyroid. It took me a year to recover enough to go back to work, and to continue my degree, but somehow I managed it, even coming top in my year-group. However, the illness left me dependent on medication for the rest of my life, and with the collateral damage of daily headaches and frequent migraines.

The migraines eventually made work impossible, so I retired. Not long afterwards, a bout of influenza left me with chronic fatigue (M.E.). For the first few years, I was unable to walk more than a few paces around the house, and relied on a mobility scooter. Eventually, I learned about pacing as a possible way forwards. It took me a year of building up through slow, daily practice to be able to walk about five hundred yards up a gentle slope. Despite this improvement, I have lived with chronic fatigue ever since. The limitations it imposes have increased with each illness, and as I’ve got older.

Unable to make music  any more, I slowly developed other methods of creative expression, including textile art, writing, and editing. In 2013 I began a website (www.ruthkirk.org), and have posted a daily, original, spiritual poem there ever since. I also enjoyed helping in a charity shop for a few hours each week until three and a half years ago, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was swiftly followed by a mastectomy, then by lengthy attempts to cope with various drugs, whose side effects eventually proved intolerable. This time, the collateral damage was losing the ability to regulate my temperature, so I now cycle constantly between sweating and shivering, day and night. There is no treatment for this condition, which doesn’t even seem to have a name, though it has a significant impact on my quality of life. 

Nowadays, my limited energy is spent on hospital appointments, occasional short walks, and a few social contacts. Church is too hard to manage, but I have made a shrine in my bedroom, which I find very helpful.

As I slowly become more accepting of my overall condition, my faith grows ever stronger. When I was confirmed, very recently, I took the name of Sainte Thérèse de Lisieux. Her “little way” of doing everything, however small, with love, has become my daily aim. Accordingly, I would like to finish this article with a prayer I wrote some years ago. Each morning, I say it soon after waking up:

Your little way 

Thank you, Lord,
For this new day.
Please keep me
On your little way,

Then I will feel, think,
Say, and do
Everything with love,
For you.

No matter what
You give or take,
May I accept it
For your sake,

And strive to feel, think,
Say, and do
Everything with love –
Like you.

To those who have read this brief summary of my life-story, I send my thanks, praying that one day it will help someone, somewhere. May God bless you all.

✝️ Ruth Kirk (22.2.22.)


 

You know (for P.)

He knows how weak we are;
he remembers we are only dust.
(Psalm 103:14-16; NLT).

Lord,
You know how weak I am:
Please heal my body
Day by day.

Lord,
You know how low I am:
Please heal my mind,
So I can pray.

Lord,
You know how tired I am:
Please heal my heart,
My inmost core.

Lord,
You know how faint I am:
Please heal my soul,
Then I will soar.

🖤

Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
(Isaiah 40:31; NIV).

 


Unhurried and unworried

To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life –
this is indeed a gift from God
(Ecclesiastes 5:19; NLT).

1. I can do a lot
If I’m unhurried.

2. I can walk, Lord,
If I take my time.

3. I can still write prayers –
If I work slowly,

4. Searching out each rhythm,
Word, and rhyme.

5. I can do a lot
If I’m unworried,

6. Accepting how I am, Lord,
All day long;

7. Living in your presence,
And rejoicing –

8. For though I’m weak, and tired,
You are strong.


References

1. I walk slowly all my years (Isaiah 38:15; ESV).

3. Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes […] Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? (Luke 12:22-26; NIV).

5. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord (Job 1:21; NLT).

Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows (John 16:33; NLT).

6. Should we accept only good from the hand of God, and never anything bad? (Job 2:10; NLT).

I said to myself, “This is my sickness, and I must endure it” (Jeremiah 10:19; NIV).

7. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them (1 John 4:16; NIV).

His name is the Lord – rejoice in his presence! (Psalm 68:4; NLT).

8. He knows how weak we are (Psalm 103:14; NLT).

I am weary and worn out, O God (Proverbs 30:1; NLT).

Recognise that the Lord is glorious and strong (1 Chronicles 16:28; NLT).

Weakness


Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there.
(Matthew 4:1; NLT).

1. Son of Man,
You recollect our weakness:
Our tiredness, our frailty,
Our tears.

2. Son of Man,
You recognise our weakness:
Our stubbornness, our lack of faith,
Our fears.

3. Son of Man,
You understand our weakness:
Our selfishness, our ignorance,
Our sin.

4. Son of Man,
You fully grasp our weakness:
For you shared all the tests
We face within.

References

1. He knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust (Psalm 103:14; NLT).

2. He rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen (Mark 16:14; NIV).

3. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely (Psalm 139:4; NIV).

You, Lord, know my folly; my guilt is not hidden from you (Psalm 69:5; NIV).

4. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin (Hebrews 4:15; NLT).

In all their suffering he also suffered (Isaiah 63:9; NLT).