Isaiah 6:8

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

I Pray You Enough


My sweet friend Rhonda lost her mother suddenly back at the first of the year. She has a very tight family and it has truly been difficult for her....and her family to get through this mourning time. I am struggling with the illness of my father...and am watching him slowly waste away to nothing before my very eyes...and feel useless because there is nothing I can do. Anyways, Rhonda sent me this email today...and I felt I just had to share it with all of you out there in blogland....some of you may be hurting...or may not know that tomorrow things may be different than they are today....whatever...read this and remember to always pray enough.

"Recently, I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure. Standing near the security gate,they hugged, and the mother said, 'I love you, and I pray you enough.'
The daughter replied, 'Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I pray you enough, too, Mom.' They kissed, and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there, I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on her privacy, but she welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?' Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?' 'Well...I'm not as young as I once was, she lives so far away & has her own busy life. I have some challenges ahead, and the reality is - her next trip back will be for my funeral,' she said. 'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I pray you enough.' May I ask what that means?' She began to smile. 'That's a prayer that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.' She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and she smiled even more.'When we said, 'I pray you enough,' we wanted the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.' Then, turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory.

I pray you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I pray you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I pray you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I pray you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I pray you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I pray you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I pray you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

Then, she began to cry, and walked away.

They say, it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but an entire life to forget them."

So I encourage you my friends that I know...and ones I have yet to meet....my family and my loved ones to:

TAKE TIME TO LIVE..... and I PRAY YOU ENOUGH.......

8 comments:

Kelly said...

So beautiful, so very, very beautiful. I would like to commit that prayer to memory.

Sweet Tea said...

My husband and I were just talking this evening about how very fragile life is and how sad it is that some people live so recklessly with no thought of tomorrow...I knew your Dad had finished his chemo. I didn't realize that he was not doing well now. I. AM. SO. SORRY.

Linda said...

Oh man, now you've got me crying. Thank you for sharing this...it's beautiful!

Leigh of Tales from Bloggeritaville said...

I have seen that before and LOVE it. I have it printed out and saved in a book I often refer to, you know the one.
Thanks. My prayers to your friend.

Louisa Claire said...

Thanks for your lovely words on my blog. This prayer is just so great! Thank you for sharing!

Xazmin said...

This is so beautiful Karen, thanks for sharing it. I love it. I'm copying it down right now!

Belle's Blog said...

This is a beautiful story. I'm sorry your dad isnt doing well. My grandmother is in critical shape . It's so hard to watch those we love be so sick and in pain.
You are in my thoughts and prayers!
(((hugs))

Trina said...

This is one of my favorite emails! I haven't had it circulated around in a while, though. Glad you put it here so I could read it again.

{{HUGS}}