So…as many of you know, for the last few months I have been in prayer for a conversation at Christmas with Momma Besch. As I reflect back on March 28, 2011 (the day of Mom’s stroke) I think about how fortunate we are. Fortunate for:
1. God saving her life. He could have taken her to heaven that day, but he gave us more time with her here on earth!
2. For ALL of His MIRACLES we have seen through her recovery (refer to the first blog post: PRAYING FOR A MIRACLE)
And now I pray, and I hope you will join me in surrounding her with prayer this advent season, and ask God for a true conversation with my Mom Christmas morning. For the next 25 days I am going to post and continue to pray for a conversation with Mom on Christmas morning (and if she lets me, take a video to share with all of you!)
We were advised by Mom’s physicians that the MOST recovery occurs in the first year post stroke. This gives us until March 28, 2012. I know her recovery is in God’s time and in God’s way, but I also know that we serve a VERY BIG GOD and I want to pray for A VERY BIG LEAP IN MOM’S RECOVERY!
I will be on my knees the next 25 days and I know Mom will continue to work hard in therapy and with our family. Here is a glimpse of where she is now. I took this video while home over Thanksgiving:
Courtney does an excellent job working on speech with Mom as she re-learns reading, writing, listening and speech.
The first step in being a prayer warrior is learning about how God desires us to pray to him. I recently was reminded of the helpful acronym ACTS (which provides an order to step your way through praying).
Adoration is to adore God, to worship him and to fulfill the commandment to love him with all of our heart, mind and soul. As we spend time in adoration, we praise God for who He is - our Creator, our Sustainer and our Redeemer.Confession allows us to clear away the things in the relationship between you and God which are displeasing to Him. All of us have sinned. St John writes in his epistle "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:8,9)
Thanksgiving. From childhood we are brought up to say "Thank You" when someone does something for us, or gives us a gift. Each moment God is blessing us. And so, we need to be constantly thanking God for his blessings. In writing to Timothy, Paul makes it clear that we also need to be giving thanks for everyday, worldly things " I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." 1 Tim 2:1.
Supplication or Intercession. Finally we come to ask God for our needs and the needs of others. There are many demands on our prayer time - many topics and issues that we could pray for, so we need to choose, and to be specific.
CONVERSATION AT CHRISTMAS - DAY #1 PRAYER:
Dear Lord,
How fortunate we are to serve the Creator of ALL THINGS and that you love us SO MUCH that you make yourself accessible to us at ALL times. With the ability to create all that is, You care about our every need and teach us what love is and how to love you and one-another. In our humanness, we confess our wants and needs. Sometimes we cannot separate ourselves from our own selfishness, but in humility we come before you and ask you to wash us clean for falling for the things of this world. For we are all filthy, but by your mercy, you purify our souls! THANKS BE TO GOD!
God, we are specifically thankful for Mom. Although we would never have elected for her to suffer such a traumatic stroke, we are thankful that you gave her more time here on earth and that you have shown us your will for her life, along with our family. We thank you for her joyful spirit and her determination as she does all that she can to recover, and You do the rest! Thank you for showing us HOW BIG YOU ARE through the many MIRACLES you have unwrapped during her recovery.
Post stroke, Mom could not function at all except for moving her right arm. As we walked into that hospital room for the first time, her eyes were open, but she was not there. In the days that followed we saw her move and walk and then...even GIGGLE. Through your grace we have again heard her voice and over the past 8 months we continue to hear more and more words. From where we started to where we are now, God, we are SO VERY THANKFUL. We praise you for the success in her recovery thus far.
And now we ask, God, that you turn her words and phrases into a conversation. We thank you for her laugh as she continues to help us to understand what she wants or what she is trying to talk to us about, but God, we are so ready for the words to FLOW. Ready for her to TELL US that story, from her perspective, of what she went through while in that hotel laundry room in North Carolina, and how she saw You save her life! Lord, we ask specifically for healing from the two major ailments the stroke has caused, aphasia and apraxia.
Aphasia affects Mom’s ability to speak, listen, read and write and apraxia affects Mom’s ability to perform tasks even though she may understand what was asked of her. God, we know you know all of this, but we want to be so specific in what we are asking for! Thank you for loving Mom far more then we could EVER TRY and we ask all of these things in your precious and holy name.
Amen.
And now, thank you to all of you for your thought and care to follow this blog. Thank you for all of the prayers you have prayed and continue to lift up for Mom. This Christmas season, my goal is to surround my Mom with as much prayer as possible for a conversation at Christmas. Please help me in this goal!
To learn more on aphasia and apraxia click here:
AND, as I always ask, Where have you seen God’s grace in your life today?