Prayer

If you looked at my daily activities since my Lyme disease became worse, it would appear that my world was getting smaller and smaller.  In fact, that was what I was believing until my discovery of treasures.  If someone looked at my activities, what they would see is a large part of my day resting in my home.  Some of my day would be occupied by light housekeeping.  Three days a week I go to water therapy in a warm water pool. When I'm able, I go to bible study and church.  In nice weather I can putter in the yard for a short time.  I can still do things like go to lunch with a friend, but I need to make sure I curtail all activities the day before and a couple of days after.

As a result of being home more, I had a lot of quiet time, especially in the mornings.  I started using this time to start a prayer journal  I would always be frustrated by my attempts keep my mind from wandering during prayer, or my inability to find the right words.  In writing my prayers to God, I found that the words came more easily.  And I wrote them in my own way, as if I were having a conversation.  What happened next was astounding.  By going back to read earlier entries,  I began to see a pattern.  Every prayer is getting answered.  By seeing in  print  what I had talked to God  about, and then finding experiences I wrote about later, I saw that He heard and replied.  I began to trust that anything I came to Him about was defintitely heard.  I knew this before, but now by recording it, I was recognizing it more clearly.   Now I automatically go FIRST to God with any question about life, any anxiety, any thanks, any request instead of fretting or wondering or going to a person first for advice.  And I have the full expectation that I will get an answer if I am patient.  Sometimes it takes a while.

The other thing I was beginning to appreciate is that we all have our unique way of learning, and God reaches us through many different avenues.  I learn a lot through nature, but also through books.  I began to learn about God's nature and understand the His bible message to us through reading books by trusted authors.  There are a variety, written by Christian counselors, theologians, and regular people who share their discoveries about God in their own lives.  They pass on what they have learned and I have a voracious appetite for learning through their experiences. I especially like when they back up what they say with scripture references.  It makes the bible come alive to me.  God does use his children to help each other grow and to encourage one another.  That is what I hope to do by sharing my own story. 

So, in essence, what I have found is that my world isn't getting smaller.  There is so much yet for me to discover about our God and His purpose for me.  It feels like a vast world in front of me.