Gratitude, Hope, Healing and Restoration

I pray often.  All day long.  In the shower, in the car, doing laundry, reading to the kids, brushing the dogs...ALL DAY LONG.   I forget to share my prayers with my children.  One of the wise beautiful hearted friends who blesses my life told me she begins each day with a discussion and prayer time with her children.  I want this. This intimidates me, but I want this.  I am going to begin this in my prayer life...our prayer life, today.

As I pray, gratitude, hope, healing and restoration continue to be on my heart.  I am grateful for our children, wellness, our warm home, an incredible, loving family, beautiful friendships, a job I really like and the amazing times I have had with my husband. My list of gratitude grows and changes every time I pray, but these remain constant. 

If I forget thanksgiving, I lose hope for what is on the other side of what 'is' right now.  I must have hope, without hope I have no reason and as you can see from my gratitude list, I always have reason to give thanks.  Always.  Even in the darkest moments.

Healing is the process of curing or becoming well or the process of bringing that curing or becoming well to another.  Interesting.   In the healing of me, there is healing of others and in the healing of others, there is healing in me.  It's a process.  Wounds may happen in an instant but the healing of the wounds can take a lifetime.  The process of healing, right now, is so painful.  I do believe there is certainly healing taking place though.  A process that is under the hands of Gods timing and not my own.

Restoration... something, especially a building, that has been brought back to an earlier and usually better condition than it was before.  A building isn't erupted overnight.  A building must have a strong foundation...sometimes the foundation is laid first and sometimes the foundation happens during the process; mostly it's a combination of both.  Then the building is made in several phases.  Such is the way of healing.

So, I pray.  I ask you to pray with me....

I pray for restoration of  hope, of relationships with God, of our family, our marriage, our home (in the physical and emotional sense) and of hearts.  I pray for healing of all individuals involved in these.  I pray to always remember I have a reason or a thousand reasons to be thankful, always.

Happy Saturday.