A Praying Day

The power and importance of prayer was just a little bit more real to me today. My niece and a friend's mom—who live thousands of miles apart—had surgeries in the early afternoon.

It was a coincidence that they were on the same day, but their being about the same time ensured I did not forget to lift both of them before God's throne. For different reasons, both were nervous about the surgeries and needed a healthy dose of heavenly peace. And of course both wanted their procedures to be safe and effective.

Thanks to God and the gifts He has given to the medical staff, they came through beautifully and are recovering. Thank you, God, for answered prayer today—when Your power seems close and Your light vivid—and every day.

My beautiful niece recovering in the hospital.

What I haven't done

It's been a while since my last post, and in that while I've been procrastinating blogging because I've felt I haven't accomplished much. I have had little time to scrapbook, and I haven't motivated myself to clean up the garden as I intended to do in May.

But as I reflected on life since I last blogged, I realized that life brings you little joys, even if you're not looking for them, and are swamped with work from two jobs, and are feeling stressed about certain aspects of your future. Here are some joys God has given me the privilege of experiencing recently:

• A good friend of my sister-in-law's, who has become a fun scrapbooking friend, had a precious little boy with a head full of dark, soft hair. He's adorable indeed.
• I visited my family and joined in on important celebrations—Mother's Day and my eldest brother's birthday—as well as the everyday delights of a picnic, stops at tourist attractions, and warm hugs.
• A conference I attended left me inspired to write more—perhaps even a book someday.
• I celebrated a friend's birthday with delicious food, deep conversation, and delightful smiles. And a party to celebrate more is planned for Sunday.
• I cleaned out part of my closet and various areas of my house and piles of paper that ordinarily don't get as much attention as they deserve—a great feeling.
• I taught Sunday school to second- and third-grade kids; the childlike prayers and innocent (but often humorous) questions and responses warmed my heart.
• I laughed and cooked and prayed and cleaned and lived with my wonderful husband.

Accomplishments are important to me. I like to have checked off a list and made progress in projects I've assigned myself. But sometimes it's important to set aside organization and calendars and perfect plans and be surprised by joy.