MANY OF MY GOOD FRIENDS ARE GOING THROUGH VERY STRESSFUL TIMES RIGHT NOW...it makes me feel like some of my stress is pretty minor. Here's an example: one friend has been having lumps to be biopsied in various places this year and had more found in her thyroid last week. The good news came today that they weren't malignant...yet. They will probably need to come out. She has been dealing with one thing after another lately and with more grace as time goes on. The circumstances don't get any easier, but she seems to be able to manage with more calm with the grace that only God can supply.
Another friend has a husband who had bypass surgery a month or two ago with re-hospitalizations afterward due to irregular heartbeats. It looked like that was getting under control when he developed a new one last weekend. She keeps getting bad news re his condition that they try to put as positively as they can. She doesn't know how to deal with what they tell her and is having to lean heavily on the Lord as she literally waits for Him. I have learned a lot from her over the years as I have watched her wait on God. He always meets the need she has and has proved Himself sufficient. She has habitually remained calm in the middle of some pretty major storms. (They are now home and getting some sleep.)
A new friend has been suffering this week in the wake of difficult and sad events happening in her church. She is using this time to learn more about how to be a peacemaking woman (also the title of a book) in the middle of circumstances that are not peaceful. She has also offered hospitality to two of us going to a seminar this weekend which I know has been costly to her (at least in time and effort when she is stretched).
Another friend is worried about her college aged daughter who has started dating a really nice young man...who is not a christian. Her worry has been channeled into prayer for her daughter and the young man, and some very straight conversations re this situation. Already she is seeing signs of God working, but they are still dating.
So my mental prayer list has been on overload as these and others have come to mind during the day. My mother is not doing well in the nursing home. She loses more and more of her contact with reality. Now she is physically going downhill. Her birthday this week (84) is likely to be her last.
We had a dangerous episode with my stepfather over the weeked which probably will not encourage him in the direction of getting more care, but should. I have vowed not to live this far from my children when i am in this situation. (If I am this unfortunate.) My sister and I plan to get to Florida the end of this month to visit mom and give my youngest sister (20 years younger) some moral support when she comes over from Amsterdam. So my traveling isn't as over as I had thought! Neither are my days of leaning on the Lord in times of inadequacy.