Yes, prayer works; Clarity and Healing

Thank you. From my email know many of you – perhaps hundreds, perhaps thousands – whispered up generous and heartfelt prayers regarding this situation.

Yesterday was a tough, frightening, emotionally and spiritually exhausting day…as with many things, the situation had to get worse before it could get better. Things skated upon a hoary edge…at one point I remember thinking, “Lord, I thought I asked you to stand between these two so that wouldn’t happen!” Then I realized…sometimes a thing must play out – a pustule must burst – before healing can begin. Sometimes in order for people to wake up and see how far gone a situation is, there must be that sharp slap to the senses. Yesterday brought that.

Last night, a hurdle was crossed. Today, things are a little better, certainly calmer, and there seems to be resolve, all around, that the family will work to do better, will work to avoid things spiraling so fearfully out of control, and there is some oversight. One parent stepped up, finally. The other backed down. Concerned and interested parties provided help and counsel. Hopefully, as prayers for this family continue, and they get some help…things will slowly but steadily improve.

Prayer works. At one point, yesterday, we got the kid who was hurting the most out of that house, knowing – of course – that we’d have to bring her back. We worried about the “bringing back” part – what would we be bringing her home to? Buster told me that he was saying to God, “c’mon now, we have people praying all over the world, here – we’ve got three monasteries praying – we’ve put St. Joseph in charge of the father and Mary in charge of the Mother – we’ve corralled prayers from everyone from St. Michael the Archangel to St. Thomas More to St. John Fisher to all the Saints and Blessed Theresa’s and Elizabeth’s and even Kateri Tekakwitha! We roped in Cardinal O’ Connor and JPII – do you really need me to pray, too? It’s not like you don’t know the need!”

At that point the phone rang, with the news that things were straightening out, that things were markedly better and points would be addressed, matters were being handled – that we could take the kid back home without fear.

Prayer works. Thank you for praying. Please don’t forget these folks, particularly the two teens and the little one, as they go about working for healing. This family has no faith, and so they have little hope and no habit of looking beyond a thing, to what is “seen and unseen” and so their work may be more difficult that it might be for others. They’ll need prayers for a long time.

And thank you, also, for praying for my BFF Diane, who – it turns out – was bringing out a kidney stone. This has been going on for months and they finally – finally – figured it out with this trip to the ER, as past trips hadn’t shown it.

Clarity and healing…wonderful things to pray for. I am so grateful to you for your generosity.

I was going to shut down comments on this thread, because I know you people and that you’re too generous and you also think much too well of me, and I didn’t want to be reading comments about how “good” we were to help this family. I’m not good. I went kicking and screaming into this saying, “what the hell? Why is this on my plate?” But I’ll let the comments stay open, because you all should have your chance to praise God, from whom all blessings – and all clarity and healing – flow. Thanks again. Maybe tomorrow I’ll actually blog a bit. Today…we rest up from battle, and pray in thanksgiving, and in hopes that tomorrow is better than today.