My beautiful friend is hurting.
As I stood on the platform singing on the worship team, I spied her weeping on the front row. A sister-in-Christ stood behind her, rubbing her back and whispering prayers over her. Her young son, with his head resting in her lap, kept reaching up to wipe away his mommy’s tears.
After the service, one of our sweetest deacons gave her a warm, fatherly hug.
Others reached out as well.
I don’t know what’s wrong, and I’m not sure she does either. She just knows she needs a touch from God. She needs to be made well. Whole.
Ever been there?
You don’t know what’s wrong, just that something is and you’re not prepared to live with it any more.
I’ve been there.
It’s what I call a milestone moment. A crossroads.
If you are at a crossroads in your life trying to decide if you’re ready to take steps toward wholeness, this prayergift is for you.
Lord,
You see her.
I know it.
You see her tears, and, although she’s not sure what they’re all about, You know the whole story.
You know the exact moment her heart received its first fracture.
Hearts are like car windshields.
At first, her heart received a seemingly harmless ding.
Yes, the chip was annoying and slightly inconvenient, but it didn’t stop her from living life as usual.
But then it started to spread. What used to be a tiny distortion on the windshield of her life is now a huge crack she can’t see around. It’s not safe to be on the road with a crack that size. One more pebble or a really hot day could cause it to shatter.
It’s time for a full replacement.
That’s where the analogy ends. Windshields can be replaced in less than an hour, but new hearts take time.
Lord, my friend doesn’t know what to do. She doesn’t even really know exactly what’s wrong. She just knows You hold the key to her wholeness.
As much as my heart aches for my hurting friend, I am also filled with anticipation over what You’re up to in her life.
May she hear you say to her soul: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16 NIV
Illuminate her next step.
Lord, it’s human nature for us to desire to see the whole picture. We want to know the ending before we begin. We don’t like to be kept in the dark.
For my sister, I ask You to shed Your light on the next step You want her to take. May she see You standing there with an adoring smile on Your face. “Come on, Sweetheart. Hold my hand and we’ll do this thing together.”
Infuse her with the courage to say, “Whatever it takes.”
When I was at my crossroads, a dear friend challenged me to pray, “Whatever it takes, Lord.” Never have I prayed a more powerful and painful prayer. You brought me through many a fiery trial to make me whole. In fact, You are still at work in me, even now.
Though “whatever it takes” is sometimes painful and downright hard, the end result is so worth it. Give my sister the strength to throw up her hands and say, “Do whatever it takes to make me whole.”
Invite others into her healing journey.
You never meant for us to do life on our own. I pray You will provide my sister with a support system of people willing to be in the trenches with her as long as it takes. To love her. To pray for her. To cry with her. To rejoice with her. To just be there for her.
Equip loved ones with the compassion, patience, and sensitivity she will need as she does the hard work of wholeness.
May her supporters be willing to make sacrifices to see her soar, and may she have the humility she needs to let people love her that way.
Lord, meet my sister right where she is. Hold her fragile heart in Your hands and do what only You can do in her life.
I rejoice in advance for all You will do in and through my sister as she takes her first steps down the Road to Wholeness.
In Jesus’ Name I pray, AMEN
