The Irish Sea one morning in mid-January was very calm. You could hear the water lapping on the promenade walls at high tide. After the high winds and waves of the previous few days it seemed so still.
As I rounded a corner I found a small Christmas Tree on the promenade. It seemed a little out of place. But it made me think. Here was a little evergreen tree, decorated by someone with shiny baubles. I have no idea who did this but the evidence of their actions was there before my eyes.
Often we pray and never know how or with whom the Lord is going to work out our prayers. But our prayers make a difference. They are like the evergreen-eternal presence of God in our lives. And through stormy or still seas, through joy and sorrow, through hope and despair, through life and death, the love of the Lord endures forever.
Over the past few weeks we have been carrying in prayer several people who are in the final stages of cancer, and their family and friends who support them. It is a hard journey to take, but they are not alone.
Father God, thank you for your faithful love that endures forever. We hold before your throne of grace those who are in the last days of their journey in this life and preparing to join you beyond the veil. And we uphold the arms of those who journey with them as they care for them, love them and pray for them. We pray that you will send your Comforter to all – be their strength, their guide and their everlasting hope. Amen.
“The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:28-31 NLT
Samantha
