A prayer for the hurting today <3

This morning I was watching endless reels of Dolly Parton and all the lovely words people I know and people I never met had to say about her. 

In the midst of it, I received a text from our Rachel with a real tragedy. As much as I am sad we won’t see Dolly in the flesh anymore, dying in your right mind with a legacy of kindness and generosity at the age of 80 is really a gift in my experience. 

The news from Rachel was the hard kind that leaves us reeling and regrouping as we deal with our own emotions and counsel those coming along behind us. 

A precious family in the school our grandchildren attend experienced a devastating loss last night. I may overuse devastating and devastated because that is the theme of the story. Their house had an explosion in the night. All survived, but there are various degrees of burns. The worst were incurred by the father and mom. 

I am sure that would be because, knowing them, they worked tirelessly rescuing the other six family members. Their house is leveled this morning to the ground. And we, who have grown to love them, are weeping at our tables and desks and trying to figure out how to comfort all the kids who love them too. 

This family is what I call a Norman Rockwell family. They love and support each other while wrestling wildly and competing fiercely. They tote coolers and card games into tournaments and while they cheer loudly for everyone, they really pull out the stops when one of their own enters the field. 

Their laughter and joy is contagious and we have all just globbed onto them and they have welcomed us into the tribe. 

And now they are hurting and we are hurting with them and for them. 

Because I know I have a small readership, and there are some of you who are wiping your own tears today, if you came here I want to make sure you receive some kind of encouragement and so here is my prayer for them and for you and your children today. 

Heavenly Father, 

I come before you with a heavy heart. I am so grateful there was no loss of life. But Father, there are injuries to body, soul and spirit that need your healing. 

There is the loss of all possessions. And while I know this family definitely understands the concept of moth and rust and investing in heaven’s bank account, not earth’s…I cannot help but think of how they have lost everything and some things will not be replaceable. We know that some things are keepsakes of memories and so I pray the memories hold strong without the physical evidence. 

I pray for the hard questions our own grandchildren, children, their friends, coaches, teachers, administrators, and other parents and grandparents are asking. I thank you that you let us ask “Why?’ 

Lord, we ask in brokenness and aching hearts why it was allowed to happen. We know that all things are under Your hand and in Your timing, but we are finite and we are hurting. So thank you for the space for each adult and child to ask and then thank you for the grace to let us sit and wait. 

For me, Lord, I rest on the words of Proverbs 3: 5 and 6 and I will not lean on my own understanding, nor will I lean on my need to understand. I will trust in You and I know You will set my path straight as you hold me in the tension of wanting an answer and accepting I may never have one. 

Lord, thank you for the families who are caring for them. Thank you for the church and the body of Christ that will love and support them. 

Thank you for physicians who are treating them and the Great Physician who will heal them. 

Lord, You are good and Your mercies are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness. Thank you for being our real and present help in all times but especially in times like these. 

Amen <3