For those who care for someone with Parkinson's disease
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I know how important faith is to many of us here. I'll admit that sometimes I'm so lost I'm not even sure what to pray for. I read about a woman in "Tender Mercies" by Anne Lamott who woke up every morning praying "Help me help me help me" and went to bed every night praying "Thank you thank you thank you." I do that a lot. I do pray for strength and compassion, for me and others....I also find myself reading John Donne's Meditation over and over: "God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God's hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to one another." I hope this doesn't sound like some fake pious BS. We mention prayer a lot here and I'm just looking for guidance...what do you pray for? How do you pray? Do you think it works (I do)? Do you have a favorite prayer? I hope this is not too personal or intrusive. Thanks for your help and God bless. Pick |
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Dear Pick, "The Lord bless thee, and keep thee; The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Numbers 6:24-26 This is one of my favorite Biblical prayers; mostly I like to pray spontaneously, sometimes in thankful praise for simple things like my eyes to see the skies, mountains, and beauties of God's creations I'm enjoying at the time. Other times when life gets beyond hectic, I utter, "Be still, and know that I am God." Many times I admit to God that I don't know what to pray for and just plead "Help"! I'm grateful He's there 24/7 to accept our petitions and praises! Lou Ann |
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Pick, A favorite of mine is Psalm 23. it has helped me thru some tough times in my life. Pat |
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| Proverbs 3.5 Is my most called on prayer scripture. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Jock Doc and Barb |
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| I hate to be a copycat Jockdoc and Barb but I'm going to be! Has gotten tme throught lots of tought times. Remembering someone else is in charge is hard sometimes. |
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| I find thatI talk to God throughout the day asking for help and guidance and also thanking him when something goes right. I find comfort in the 23rd Psalm. |
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| Another verse that gives me strength.....I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength. Philippians 4.13 Jock Doc and Barb |
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| I call on the lord and the lady. |
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He does indeed hold us in the palm of His hand. But sometimes our hand is shaking so badly we don't stay for long! We need to learn to cuddle up and let Him do the work. He will and He'll also pick us back up when we fall out. My favorite and special prayer is the Serenity prayer "Please, please, please ... help me to accept what I cannot change and the wisdom to know the difference." |
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Here’s a song that has helped me recently and has to do with prayer. “When I am down and oh, my soul, so weary When troubles come and my heart burdened be Then I am still and wait here in the silence Until you come and sit a while with me You raise me up so I can stand on mountains You raise me up to walk on stormy seas I am strong when I am on your shoulders You raise me up to more than I can be” Prayer, to me, is when you take the time, even just for a moment, to recognize that you aren’t alone. And that there is a powerful, compassionate force companioning you through life that enables you to do what you’re called to do every day, no matter how difficult. Since dealing with my mom’s PD, and especially lately, I’ve been praying what Jesus prayed in his last days…”Take this cup from me (us), yet not my will, but thine be done.” This helps me to be as honest as I can be with myself and God, and at the same time accept whatever comes. Prayer has become less of an ask/answer exercise and more of a relinquishing and receiving way of living. You started a subject that I’ve been thinking a lot about, so that’s the reason for this longish and somewhat philosophical post. Hope you don’t mind my ramblings… (PS Josh Groban has an excellent rendition of this song (You Raise Me Up) on his cd “Closer”. Another inspirational song I like is “Anyway” by Martina McBride.) |
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Thank you so much for all the heartfelt responses. You people are truly a Godsend. The Benediction is also one of my favorite prayers, LouAnn. When I think about Aaron stretching his arms out to place God's name on a group of frustrated people wandering in the desert, I think about how lost and frustrated I often feel and know that this blessing reaches me as well. "Bread for the Journey," by Henri J.M Nouwen is a daybook I keep on my nightstand. Yesterday I discovered a passage that related to my 'complaint' about not knowing what to pray for and it reminded me of something I need to keep in mind. It's a little long but I wanted to share it with all of you: "Prayer is the gift of the Spirit. Often we wonder how to pray, when to pray, and what to pray. We can become very concerned about methods and techniques of prayer. But finally it is not we who pray but the Spirit who prays within us. Paul says, 'The Spirit...comes to help us in our weakness, for, when we do not know how to pray properly, then the Spirit personally makes our petitions for us in groans that cannot be put into words; and he who can see into all hearts knows what the Spirit means because the prayers that the Spirit makes for God's holy people are always in accordance with the mind of God' (Romans 8: 26-27)." Finally, one of my favorite passages in scripture, yet also very difficult for me to incorporate into daily life, is Matthew 6:26 "Look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" Thanks again, everyone and God bless! |
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| I think the prayer is not just or only words...A prayer is also what you do for your loved ones and how you do it. When you help them and you stay by their side with love, this is worth a prayer to me ... |
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| This one is special to Punky. John 10.28-29 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father's hand. Jock Doc and Barb |