Wheels up one week from today! I'm getting excited, and a little (more) apprehensive about our vacation. Will our puppy be ok?? We've never left her since we got her! Will she wonder if we left her forever?? The weather there is STILL chilly. I'm PRAYING that it warms up SOON!
Speaking of prayers...last night I was praying. For warm weather. And for my friend Deanna, who was in a serious car accident. And for guidance on the adoption idea. And for my son's hurting leg, for my dad's cancer, for my grandma, for my cousin who is mourning a loss, for my other cousin who's trying to buy a house. For Japan. For Haiti. For the southeast flood victims. For the Endeavour astronauts. For a friend who's suffered a loss. For a friend who just lost a baby. For safety for travelers. For our troops. For financial stability. And as I was switching gears to prayers of gratitude...
I became totally overwhelmed.
I started weeping and praying for my Pastor, who shoulders EVERYONE'S prayer requests. People call him, email him, text him, approach him at church, at the store, at ball games. The weight that a pastor must carry with them is tremendous. How does he remember it all?
I'm sure that he doesn't. He just gives it all to God. And while I try to do the same thing, I do it in detailed, color-coded lists. These two verses spoke to me at that moment:
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express" (Romans 8:26).
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).
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