Late at night came the text. “Car accident. She is hurt. Please pray for us.” Dear God, the prayers go up, She’s already lost several babies. Not this one. Not today.
Three hours in the ER for tests and we were sent back for observation, where they gave me a visitor bracelet to match hers so I could stay. “It’s a friendship bracelet,” I told her, and she laughed. Meanwhile we were just trying to figure out how in the world one puts on a hospital gown. What are all those snaps for?
Monitors on. Heartbeat steady. Mama began to relax with the knowledge that all would be well. A few more hours, and – thanks be to God – we were given the green light to go home. Her husband refused to sleep until she arrived home safely. After we arrived, he finally went to sleep – but not before giving me a handful of sweet bananas as a thank you because I didn’t let him cook for me in the middle of the night.
The friendship bracelet is in my Bible now, a tangible reminder of the sisterhood we’ve built and of the need to pray as He is writing their names on the palms of His hands, longing to take the hands of these people I love and lead them through the Door. Those same hands that move to cook for me at 3:30am, offer to bring me food when I am sick, sew for me because I hate it, create paper flowers that brighten my home and heart, work hard to study for citizenship as they walk towards belonging.
Belonging. Just like the friendship bracelet. A mark of love saying “We are connected to each other.”
There’s no real flowery ending to this. Just a cry and a prayer that as these friends experience repetitive acts of service and love, their brains and hearts would begin to heal and be opened to the One whose hands have borne the mark of ultimate love for them. That they would seek Him and that He would show up in ways we could never dream up on our own. Will you join us in prayer for that?
– Pray for healing of minds from trauma. Pray for bodies to be restored after decades of chronic illness, malnutrition, and neglect.
– Pray for comfort for the many mothers who have lost babies and ask that they would see visions and dreams of Jesus holding their children in His arms – and that they will trust and believe in His name.
– Pray for those befriending the Rohingya and seeking to share God’s love. Pray that they would see God at work in their friendships.