Breath.
The fact that we have breath is amazing if you think about it.
You were chosen.
You were born.
You out of all those little atoms and neurons and everything that had to take place to create you,
You are here.
That's such a beautiful concept that we just don't think about every day because we're so distracted or just focused on the present moment.
We're sitting in traffic,
We're working on a job,
A project,
We are spending time with our children,
We are running to and from soccer practice,
Whatever it is that you're doing,
Whatever season in life,
I think we can all say that we don't think often enough about the fact that it's a complete miracle that we are alive.
And with that being said,
As a mother,
As someone who has been faced with the incredible feat of raising a human,
The idea of mortality has come upon me a little bit more quickly and without welcome,
I would say,
Than before,
Than the season I was in before.
However,
With Jesus,
Death does not need to look scary.
It doesn't need to be hopeless and I'm preaching to myself right now because I do have fears that rise up.
I'm constantly faced with this deep yearning,
This intense desire to leave a legacy for my child,
To make sure that every moment I'm with her,
That I'm making the most of it,
That I'm expanding every moment,
That I'm soaking it in.
But I think that can also be damaging because there are moments of mundane in our lives.
And those mundane moments where we're just sitting down,
Spacing out,
Getting a break to ourselves to just simply be present or be disconnected from our constant role of being on.
I think that's okay too because we live in a society where,
Whether it's said or not said,
I think it's just a cultural expectation that we are to be on at all times.
I think that Jesus would invite us to be off,
Turn the off switch on,
But truly,
Just turn yourself off for a moment and whatever that looks like,
It's okay.
It's okay to disconnect sometimes.
But I want to loop back to just the idea of death,
Of mortality,
Whether it's for yourself or whether you have lost someone dear,
Or perhaps you're in the process of losing someone or grieving what once was and what isn't anymore.
I just really have it on my heart to say a prayer for you because this life is so beautiful.
And the thing that bothers me the most about church culture and Christianity is that we kind of just say these vague,
Simple prayers.
Sometimes we do.
Beautiful prayers,
But when someone is grieving,
When someone is in a process of battling something that is beyond themselves,
It's not going to take a Bible verse to provide comfort.
It's not going to take a momentary fleeting prayer to provide comfort.
The only thing that I have found has provided lasting comfort and at least just empathy and compassion is the person of Jesus.
It is Him,
Truly Him.
He is alive still.
Let's not forget.
Let's not just sit down in church and read our Bibles and open up the word and close it and be done.
Let's remember that Jesus is alive.
He is walking with us.
He is welcome here.
He is invited to sit at the table with us.
And even if we don't open up our eyes to see that He's there,
He's there.
He is sitting right next to you,
Right in front of you.
And I love that verse that says that even when we are faithless,
He is faithful.
So if you're going through a season where you just don't have the strength to reach out to Him,
You don't have the energy,
It's okay.
There's no condemnation for you.
There is no shame in that.
Jesus is still faithful with you.
He is there for you.
He has not left your side,
Even though it may feel dark and scary and isolating.
I just want to come alongside you right now.
I am not Jesus.
I am not God.
But I want to be a voice to encourage you because the devil,
The enemy,
He wants you to forget that you can call upon Jesus.
I'm going to just be still and invite you,
Jesus,
To use me as a mouthpiece to pray for this person in particular.
Heavenly Father,
I lift up this person to you right now.
I hand you over their body.
Would you first just softly,
Calmly provide your presence over their body,
Lord?
They feel their shoulders start relaxing,
Start calming down,
Start releasing some of the tension of the day,
Of the weeks,
Of the season,
Lord.
Please,
Jesus,
We ask for your hands to be laid upon their shoulders.
I pray right now,
Jesus,
That you would pick up that burden that has been so heavy and weighing them down.
Lord Jesus,
Please,
With your hands,
Pick that burden up right now.
Would they feel a lightness?
Would they feel airy?
Would they feel lifted up in your presence,
Lord?
I pray that you would just surround them with your warmth,
With your comfort,
That they would be at peace knowing that you are near and you are here.
Lord,
I pray for the pain,
The pain that they are going through.
I pray that the people that come into their lives with a Bible verse to just try to band-aid the pain,
Lord,
We know that they may mean well,
But in Jesus' name,
I just rebuke any short-term bandages,
Any words from people that are not going to provide comfort and peace.
I rebuke anything that is going to distract or cause anger or cause frustration.
And instead,
Jesus,
I ask for your compassion.
I ask for you to just sit with us in the pain.
Lord,
You don't need this person to move.
You're not asking them to see the silver lining right now.
You're not requiring them to take the next step or find the peace in the situation or the joy.
You are sitting with them,
Holding their face in your hands,
Watching the tears that well up and you have tears welling up too,
Lord.
You feel their pain,
Lord.
And I pray,
Jesus,
That as they sense your presence,
As they sense you lovingly with them in this,
That they would not be angry,
But that they would feel your compassion,
That they would feel that you have so much grief with them.
I pray that you would take some of their grief and bring it onto yourself,
Lord,
By your wounds we are healed,
Lord.
So please provide some sort of healing in this moment for all of the wounds that they have endured in this season.
Jesus,
Thank you.
Thank you for taking some of the burden.
Thank you for being compassionate.
Thank you for being with us.
Thank you for not asking us to quickly move into a place of gratitude,
But just allowing us to be upset,
Angry,
Hurt,
Confused,
Scared.
It's okay for us to be scared.
And I do pray,
Lord,
That you will use this situation for your glory in some way,
That you will use it and make sense of it in some way.
Give it purpose,
Lord.
Give it purpose,
Even if they can't see it right now.
And that's okay.
But Lord,
I ask for your peace that surpasses all understanding to just envelop this person,
Their mind,
Their heart.
I pray that you would give them people to surround them that would be encouraging,
That would allow them to grieve,
And that would truly desire to be vulnerable and grieve with them.
I pray that you would send people from near or far to just sit with them and weep.
Lord,
I pray for healing.
Lord,
I pray that they would not let go of you,
That they would hold on tight to you as you are holding on to them.
And Lord,
I just,
Again,
I just pray for meaning and purpose.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
I'm not sure if that prayer resonated with you or not,
But I just wanted to be open to whatever God led me in today,
And that's where he took me.
And I just want you to know that I'm here for you.
You have a friend in me,
But more importantly,
You have a friend in Jesus.
He is your counselor,
And he loves you.
And a verse that's coming up for me is,
Hope deferred makes the heart sick.
And so I'm just praying against Satan using any tactics to defer your hope.
We truly can hope in God.
We can hope in eternity.
We can hope in the fact that we will not endure this pain forever.
I hope that somehow I encouraged you today,
That hopefully you feel a little less alone and God cherishes you.
You are his beloved,
And again,
He will never leave you.
He will never forsake you,
And he is with you in this season.
Thank you so much for just listening today and joining me,
And thank you Jesus for being an ever-present help when we are in need.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
