My Featured Blogger this week is Karyn of Saturated in Seattle, whose words are bracing, heartbreaking, hopeful…essential. About herself, Karyn says, “This is me; all of me. Present. Authentic. Vulnerable. Always learning. Forever growing. Humble and yet sometimes proud. A wretch and yet a saint. I’m complex and simple, but always myself.” Herself indeed. And somehow all of us.
Hold her, Lord, when I can’t
Hold her when she won’t let me
Hold her when I can’t see her face in my mind’s eye or feel her presence in our once-shared melodies
Hold her when I don’t recognize the little girl I once knew
Hold her when she can’t see the light
Hold her when she makes deals with darkness
Hold her in her nightmares
Hold her when she runs away from the life you intended her and purposed her to live
Hold her in her hiding
Hold her in her shame, guilt, and embarrassment
Hold her in her brokenness, her fractures and fissures
Hold her in her denial
Hold her in her addictions, afflictions, and self-prescriptions
Hold her when she’s decaying from within
Hold her when she lacks understanding
Hold her in her depression
Hold her when the world is too loud for her
Hold her when the world is too crowded for her
Hold her when she escapes
Hold her when she’s high
Hold her when she’s in the grip of darkness
Hold her when she lies and manipulates
Hold her when she entertains dark forces and spirits
Hold her when she cries and when she yells, and when she is manic
Hold her when she is numb and indifferent
Hold her when she is hard and bitter and angry
Hold her when she is wrong and when she has been wronged
Hold her when she is scared
I trust you.
I trust You to do what I can’t
I trust You to do what she can’t
I trust You to do what only You can do
I trust You to fulfill Your promises
I trust You to fight for her
I trust You to protect her
I trust You to win this battle
I trust You to redeem and restore all that is broken
I trust You to breathe Your life into her dry bones
I trust You when I can’t see You working
I trust You when I don’t understand You or her
I trust You when all I can hear is silence
I trust You in the sleepless, agonizing nights
I trust You with my tears
I trust You with my heart
I trust You with my daughter; Your daughter.
I trust that You’ll bring joy in the morning
I trust that You’ll allot new mercies each morning
I trust that You’ll provide all she needs
I trust that You’ll replace her crown of ashes with one of beauty
I trust in Your power and might
I trust in Your plan and Your will not to harm her but to prosper her, whatever that means
I trust that the enemy’s head will be crushed
I trust that You will heal her from the inside out
I trust that You’ll speak to her in a unique, undeniable way
I trust that You won’t forget about her
I trust that You won’t write her off
I trust that her name written in Your Book of Life is in red, not pencil
I trust that You’ll set her free and forgive her
I trust that You’ll create in her a clean heart, a new heart
I trust that even when I let go, You’ve got her
I trust in You. I trust in You. I trust in You. I trust in You.
Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief.
I have a dear friend whose daughter is struggling with addiction. He’s not seen her or heard from her in weeks. She disappears and then shows back up on his doorstep weeks at a time.
His name is Keith. I thought of him as I read all this. Please keep him and his daughter Samantha in your prayers. They’re in the thick of a very dark battle. 🙏🏼
Praying for Samantha and Keith.
I will pray, too
Heartbreaking, Mitch <3
I prayed this prayer over my son, too. Parenting Prodigals requires this kind of faith and prayer. Love to the Moms who resonate with this. ♥
(And hold him, too.) ❤️ Lovely.
Same as my prayers for my daughters as their father. I too, trust in the steadfast love of God, our Father.
Quick prayer: Father GOD please wrap your loving arms around all individuals that are in need. I pray you guide them in the right direction, showing them that you are still GOD!! In Jesus name Amen & Amen. 🙏🙏
Achingly poignant 🙏🏼
Powerful!
Mitch,
A mother’s prayer is a powerful thing for sure. The image really is heavy.
Thanks, Gary
Amen! This is my prayer for my children, as well! The Lord shall make it all so- through Jesus Name!
Mitch, Thank you so much for sharing this! I have shared it with a mother I know who is struggling to trust God with her children, which I know firsthand is no small thing. Also, being a prodigal child myself, with a life that is a testimony to my parents’ surrender and the impossible faithfulness of God, I was moved with humble gratitude for the cost of the life and freedom I have the privilege of leading. 💗
And all of those attributes are more than evident in your writing, Kara.
Thank you so much, Mitch 💗
All, this is a But GOD moment!!
What I mean about that is, my plans were to post something entirely different.
But GOD said NO, I need you to bless everyone with a prayer. I have to be obedient. So, here we go.
Heavenly Father, please help everyone beat this addiction. They have the will to stop but keep failing. I know your spirit gives power. Strengthen minds, remove this addiction from their life. And GOD please help them mend all broken relationships, help them resist this substance and give them peace. In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen & Amen.
It is done!! 😇
This prayer is for anyone needing it. 🙏🙏
Amen.
Such anguish but such trust, too.
Thank you for your comment Vera. 😌
That’s breathtakingly beautiful and strong and real.
Prayer for prodigals is very effective. Karyn, this is poignant and powerful! Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this Mitch. As others have already said there are many out there who will be encouraged by this. My mum prayed faithfully every day for me for 12 years. Her prayers were answered when grace broke into my life again. It’s so much pain but God is the everlasting arms underneath us.
Thank you for your encouragement and testimony, Nicola.
Thank you for sharing Karyn’s blog, Mitch.
My privilege, Lesley.
beautiful prayer, and great illustration as well
So touching… leaning on the everlasting arms. I’ve seen me old mum do this for all her children. Her prayers are deeply agonizing.💙🙏
This is a powerful prayer, Karyn! While reading, it brought individuals to mind and I began to substitute their names. Thanks for sharing it, Mitch.
My privilege, Manette.
Beautiful.
So powerful and profound!
I feel this deeply. ♥️