friends...

you ever had a friend that was hurting or was troubled and didn't know what to do to help? i hate being in that position. i know a lot of times, i put my friends/loved one's there. and when it's someone who is usually there for you & usually knows what to say it's hard not to be able to help them out when they need it most.

dunno. sometimes it's just makes you feel helpless. so all i can do, is what i know. and that is pray.

this is dedicated to my friend & for anyone else who is in need of being cheered up, had a bad day/week/year etc.

Dear God,

i ask that you take in consideration all the good things i've done in life. i know the bad tend to overshadow the good, but there are A LOT of good things. i know at times we are at odds with one another. moreso, because i'm such a heathen in the grand scale of goodness. but you know my heart, better than anyone. yanno the one thing i have is faith & trust in you. so i ask, better yet i pray that you continue to shine the sunshine on my friends, family, associates, whoever is in need of a little light. i ask that you show them a way out of the clouds and the gloom. that you put the happiness of your love in their heart & give them a way to smile again.

i know you always watch after me, and since we're so tight. i figure if i just ask you to watch after my friend you'll show them your presence as well. i may not have the words to cheer them up. i may not be the vessel in which they need to feel better, but please send them that serenity. let them know they are loved, not only by me but by you & others. that there is no reason to give up or to close off. yea, i know. this is stuff i should remember when i'm down and out. and i thank you for giving me this reflection right now to think about it for myself as well.

Lord i pray that you allow your love to overshadow any unhappiness that may occur in the lives of your children. i won't ever stop believing that things will be better, and i want you to pass that through me to others. i ask that you heal the wounds, the emotional scars and everything else that is stopping us from smiling. stopping us from living. stopping us from seeing the light through the trees. light our path, our hearts, & our minds. allow us to be the shoulder to cry on, the back to carry, & the hand to hold up each other. thank you for your goodness, thanks for your presence in my life & in my heart. thank you for allowing me to feel the hurt my friends feel, so that i may help them when they are in need, as they help me. let them know that the love from you is greater than anything i can ever give, but my love doesn't fall short of that.

in your name I pray, Amen.

oh..and p.s. thanks for blessing my mom w/ another year of life today, it's not just a blessing to her. it's a for real blessing to me.