Meine Gebete

In German it means "my prayers," and while German may not flow as smoothly as Spanish or Italian, there's a poetic quality to it that can't be matched. I haven't been a consistent "praying man" in recent months, but today there are a few I feel I need to send out.

The first goes to Emily, who is going through immense joy and pain in the same breath. Just yesterday she found out she and Joe are having a girl, a new baby sister for Noah. Yet that news came as Emily is going through a lot of physical pain from recent surgery, pain so bad it permeates every joint and makes walking a burden, pain so bad that Noah is spending a few days with Grandma and Grandpa to give Emily some peace and quiet. Em, one of my prayers today is for you (and one for Joe as he helps to keep you above water during these trials).

The next prayer goes to Kirsti, to whom I owe an apology. I made some jokes via text message, jokes which I later found out were uncalled for. Kirsti, I'm really sorry. My humor got in the way of tact and I'm sorry for letting that happen. You see, Kirsti had an allergic reaction which kept her from a training exercise she had very much been looking forward to. Further, this allergic enigma is casting shadows on what Kirsti wants to be a bright future serving our country. I hope it still happens, I hope she can nip this histamine headache in the bud, but until then, she has a lot to think and feel and work through, all while miles away from family members. Kirsti, one of my prayers today is for you.

There needs to be a prayer for Elise. She loves to teach, she loves to help, she loves the idea of making a difference. Unfortunately, she has come across roadblocks named "willfully-ignorant kids" and "No Child Left Behind." Her heart is too big and kind, and when someone rejects the help she is so willing to give, all because of this "millennial" attitude of being coddled and cooed because "every kid is great no matter what," it creates a rip, an undeserved rent. Now she has some "life choices" to face- where to go next, what to do next, how to go about doing those steps. Elise, one of my prayers today is for you.

Car troubles are a bother- they slip into every one of your conscious thoughts as soon as you suspect something is wrong. You worry about what the problem could be and your mind runs through a dozen scenarios. When you drop it off, you then worry about the cost- can you afford it? What if you can't afford it? And how will I function in the meantime? For these reasons, Sarah, one of my prayers today is for you.

I just found out this morning that one of Beckie's closest friends suffered a sudden and heart-rending loss yesterday, and Beckie's heart, so full and so open to others, is aching something awful. There's so much of pain, of fear, of sorrow, and Beckie is face with the difficult task of bearing another's burden, though she does it so lovingly. I've never been close to death, so I can't empathize. What I can do, however, is say that Beckie, one of my prayers today is for you.

I hope the others in the family- Juli, Mom and Dad, Tamara- won't feel slighted at not getting a special mention. Maybe I'm just out of touch and don't understand what troubles they have in their own lives. Let me know, and I'll gladly shoot a prayer your way.

I wish I could do something more tangible to take all this pain away. I guess this will have to do for now.

I love each and every one of you.