Each Prayer is a Gift

For all the moments that I have coped

When nothing is right and nothing is possible

And everything is indescribable, unrelenting pain and paralysis,

When blankness overwhelms my mind

And despair is the most likely choice

Yet somehow, I get through,

I give thanks and praise for all those people,

Known and unknown, who pray and pray and continue

To pray for me,

without thanks or acknowledgement, or even recognition perhaps,

Yet who know of my secret torment and tortured life

And care enough to send out a spark of God’s light

To touch my life in the darkest, most treacherous moments,

So that miracles can in fact happen

and a moment of inner peace bless me,

Despite the profound impact of this illness.

I give thanks for you all.

For every prayer is a gift from God

And every prayer is touched with love and hope,

When hope may seem unlikely or impossible,

Both from without and within,

Yet God can enter in, to the bleakest places, with prayer and mercy

And touch and heal and bless in untold ways,

Even if that healing seems initially insignificant or too small to make a difference,

Even if it is only a single cell changed or a shuddering or shallow breath breathed

Or a moment of pain borne beyond endurance.

Still it can build into a bigger picture, a blessed life lived in tremendous suffering.

Still here.

For each prayer is precious and each day survived, a gift

And each moment of prayer touching my life

A moment of unimaginable grace.

Amen