Tag Archives: prayer

It’s All Good

I wrote the other day that I’ve had surgery recently.  Not to add insult to injury, but while my life has been temporarily upheveled, I decided to take care of some skin issues resulting from years of sun damage as a child because I figured I’d be home and out of public eye.  So in addition to my temporary disability, I now look horrible.  It’s one of those processes that gets worse before getting better.  I told the doctor, I’m just that vain enough to not want to go out in public until this is done.  Dignity is worth something, right?  It was the perfect plan to execute my makeover and no one would be the wiser.  I’d just show up in public one day with radiant skin and two legs that work just fine.  I’d make a subtle, yet grand, entrance like I’m some Hollywood star.  Ha!

On the morning after the skin procedure, my phone rang unexpectedly.  I must admit, with the surgery and life still blazing a trail at 100mph, I can’t keep everything straight.  Perhaps the anesthesia is still working its way out of me.  I don’t know.  I do know I’m fuzzy on details of the day.  When the phone rang, it was a precious mom from our Moms in Prayer group (I have only met these women once) saying she couldn’t find my house as she was en route for our prayer time.  I sat stunned.  I knew it was today, but in the midst of trying to get 3 kids out the door, 2 of them still finishing homework and one needing to be early to school, I just lost a grip on the day’s calendar.

I gave her directions to my home, knowing she was right around the corner, hung up and took a look around.  With Fall here, leaves are continually trekked into our house.  I usually vacuum several times a week to keep them out, but I can’t vacuum right now.  Opened birthday presents were on the fireplace, laundry was strewn about, and clutter was everywhere.

My family is trying hard to keep the ball rolling here, but with several unexpected things that seem to pop up every day, I know everyone is doing all they can. They are great helpers, but there is only 24 hours in a day – minus sleep.

I hobbled around the house in the few seconds I had to pick everything up.  There was just no way.  It was what it was.

Then there is me.  I’m a mess!  I really didn’t want anyone seeing me like this.  In fact, at the time the doorbell rang, I couldn’t remember if I had brushed my hair, much less had any make-up on.  Earlier, I chose an old, faded t-shirt to wear because of the high neckline to cover the skin procedure, and because of my surgical boot, I chose shorts that, although they are fairly new, the inside seam unraveled after the first wash, so there’s a big hole in my pants.  Not to mention my shoes.  One gigantic surgical boot and one brown sandal.  The doctor said I need to even out the height of the boot so my back doesn’t suffer from walking at two levels, so the only shoe that works is this old brown sandal (that in no way matched my shirts and shorts).

I met not one woman, but three ladies at the door and invited them in.  Welcome to my chaos! I said with a laugh.  I was SO embarrassed.

I’m not pretentious, nor do I feel I need to impress anyone.  But, at least let my house be clean when people come over.  At least let me have washed my face and put on decent clothes.

They were extremely gracious – even when one mom went into my kitchen and saw both sinks full of dirty dishes and some unknown sticky substance on the counter after the daily brigade of breakfasts and lunchboxes flew through like a tornado.

I just couldn’t get over being embarrassed.  Do I really care that much? I asked myself.  But, I never thought I did.  Why is this bothering me?  

Martha Stewart I am not.  We are a crazy house of 5 extroverts who use every square inch of its space.  Creative juices flow, and usually so does something my kids want to try to bake or a science experiment, or a string of our dog’s toys that makes it look like a preschooler lives here.

Mess.  This day, my house was a mess.  I was a mess. There was nothing I could do.

God met me in that moment and reminded me of something He told me a while back.  He said, This school year will be a year of healing for you.  But…it begins with brokenness.

He wasn’t kidding.  A broken foot it is.  At least, that all I thought He was talking about.

I didn’t realize that there may be other areas of my life that need to broken to be healed.  My foot needed to be broken so the problem could be fixed.  So does my heart.

God’s ways are different from mine, but His ways are right – every time.

This particular morning showed me that I want to be accepted and approved by people more than I should.  This was the first time these ladies were meeting at my home, to accommodate my surgery recovery, and it drove me nuts that I couldn’t create an atmosphere (or image) that everything is semi-perfect.

It’s not!  Life is not perfect!  The only bell and whistle I could do was light a cinnamon candle.  Whoopie.

I had to accept the fact that I look like a wreck, because physically I am one right now.  How humbling!

God brought me from a place of panic that they were on their way, to humility over what my house and myself looked like, to a place where I could see what was most important -prayer with other Christian moms for our kids and their schools.

To live like we are created in the image of God, we make choices to reflect Him in our words and deeds.  This requires a lot of dying to self.  Approval is an issue I’ve struggled with my whole life.  Every time God works with me on this, I feel His fingerprint on specific situations as a gentle reminder that He is not cruel or uncaring, aloof or oblivious.  He is acutely aware of our frailties and weaknesses, and He desires for each of us a life of victory.

Living in strength and victory means we are wise enough to discern a situation and respond (not react) to it according to what pleases God, not ourselves.  We can trust this process, because God promised He is working all thing good for His children.  It’s a precious circle of love.  When we break out of the circle and go our own way, we forfeit the blessing of having His workmanship revealed in our circumstance.

For me, I could barely concentrate on what we were praying about because of the state of my house and my body.  It really wasn’t pride, as much as it was me wanting these women’s approval that I am at least acceptable.

Truly, it’s only God’s acceptance that I need to crave.  When I have it from Him, I am full and satisfied.  Everything else is gravy.  When I fill my tank with people’s acceptance, I am constantly having to refill it because people, frankly, let each other down.  We don’t perform to each other’s expectations.  We love conditionally.  We forgive when we feel like it.  And we are selfish.  When we seek God’s favor first, He has freedom in our lives to set us up for success in other areas – like bringing good friends into our lives.  Friends who will come to us to pray, when we can’t go to them.

That morning was so uncomfortable for me.  But, the lesson I learned in it made me more pliable in the Potter’s hand.  A huge benefit to me was that I could scrap the embarrassment over my house and my body and welcome others into our home who have since brought us meals, and I’ve felt comfortable inviting them to sit and chat.  Even yesterday, a friend from church brought us dinner, and as we sat in the family room talking, 3 loads of laundry stared at us from the sofa just feet away.  Underwear and all!  I chose to embrace God’s acceptance of me and enjoy my visit with a dear friend who took the time to come see me.  I told her with a laugh, For a couple of weeks, this stuff really doesn’t matter.  It’ll get done eventually.

Also, I breached my own vow of solitude to attend my son’s football game yesterday.  I look like I have a plague, but who cares!  My son was playing football and my friends were going to be there.  Those two things were way more important to me.  Yes, I looked like a sports diva sitting in a chair with an overhead canopy AND an umbrella fastened to the chair to avoid all sun, and had another chair in front of me to prop my boot leg on.  I said to my friend, I wasn’t sure I was going to come, but I knew ya’ll would love me regardless of how I look.  She replied, Of course we do!  I wanted to show my son, the one who made the love note for me (in the photo above) and left it on my laptop as a surprise, that he was more important than my internal issues…because he is.

Today, between the endless, monotonous hours of icing and elevating my foot, I will shed more of my embarrassment as my family meets two of our favorite families for frozen yogurt to celebrate two birthdays between all of us. I love these families so much, and I know they love me back.  I can feel free to show up just like I am because they are family to us.  I wouldn’t miss the laughter, fun and memories we make every time we are together just so I can stay home and save face (literally!).  No way.  Life is too short.  People are too precious.  We have some very special girls who need to be sung Happy Birthday.  Memories are just waiting to be made. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.  I’ll even let myself be in the pictures…how about that!  This is largely in part to an incredible bog post I read recently by Allison Tate on the subject of having moms photographed despite ourselves. :) Take a look! click here.

Yes.  This whole experience has taught me a lesson I didn’t know I needed to learn.  When we fully release ourselves to God, even the secret places, untapped possibilities await.  Whatever we’re holding onto, whatever holds us back, whatever holds us down, let’s release it.  Then, with open hands and an eager heart, we are prepared to receive the abundant blessings God wants to give us.  And that, friends, is healing for the body and soul.

Runoff or Resource?

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.  Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. ~ Psalm 27: 13-14

Muck.  That’s what it looked like.  I happened upon a highway runoff reservoir today that looked disgusting.  It was a slimy, muddy pit of brownish water and green algae.  Surrounding it was dead grass, a few shoots of weeds several feet tall and caution tape secluding this eyesore from the rest of the world.  Really, it was gross and appeared as though there was no value in it expect to catch the junk that runs off the road.  A place I wouldn’t want to dip my pinky toe.

However, what stopped me in my tracks, and gave me cause to pause, was something smack in the middle of this mess.  There, among the dreary, dirty, wasteland was a gorgeous, spotless, pure-white egret.  This magnificent bird stood knee-high in nastiness, but it wasn’t repulsed. Rather, it slowly walked around in it – pausing to look at me.

After a moment, it turned its head away from me and drew his wings out like a solider draws his sword.  He fluffed his wings in the air with grace and confidence.  It was beautiful.

My eyes were fixated on the large, snow-colored bird strutting its feathered wings while its webbed feet stood firmly planted in the brown, algae-filled water.

Ripples.

That’s what those beautiful wings made in the mess.  Rings and rings echoing each other as they spread farther and farther across the lifeless water in slow, rhythmic motion.

I wasn’t sure why I was captivated with this sight until the Lord whispered to me, That’s Me.  When life gets messy, and there is nothing beautiful about it; when everywhere you look is draped in what seems to be hopeless turmoil, I am in the middle of it.  I give you grace and confidence to believe My hope that life has more purpose than to only catch the runoff.

I watched the egret for a while, pondering what I had heard.  The ripples of its wings symbolizes the many ways in which the hand of God works in us and through us to touch others.

Without the bird, that man-made collection pond was stagnant and smelly.  With the bird, it became a resource.  I want my life, no matter how messy, to have God’s resplendent grace and confidence stirring the stationary waters of my soul.  I want His hand to create ripples in my life that reflect His love and mercy.

No life is a waste.  No life is hopeless.  With God in the middle of it, doing His miraculous thing that He does so well, every soul can be blessed and be a blessing.

I needed that today.  It’s no coincidence that just an hour earlier He led me to read Psalm 27. Verses 13 & 14 are two of my favorite in the entire Bible.  God knows exactly where I am today, and He took time in running the universe to remind me of His Word, His faithfulness, and the effect He can have on a life – no matter what my eyes see.  He sees hope, promise and potential.

Lord, please step into the middle of my muck and grace me with Your power, unconditional love and faithfulness.  May it ripple from me to others.  Amen.

Dear God

Good morning God,

Wow.  It’s today.  The day.  A day that marks the end of a season – an era.  A time in which I’ve wanted nothing but to be obedient to You, but often wondered if I was doing a good job.  Wondering if I was measuring that “good job” against what the world says is good, or what You say.

I accepted this task with curiosity and a sense of adventure, and what an adventure it has been!  There were more precious memories made than I could have ever imagined.  I felt sky-highs and valley-lows.  There were times when I felt so capable and courageous, and other times I couldn’t find one thing right I did in the entire day.

You were there for all of it.  The challenging, the rewarding, the mundane and the wild ride these last years have been.  I have felt much angst and worry over the responsibilities I was given, but because You constantly reminded me that You were with me, I could pass the overwhelming emotions on to You so I could concentrate on the task at hand.  Thank You for having arms big enough to carry every single one of my concerns and fears.

The journey You have led me on has produced a different person within myself.  I have never felt more loved and accepted, but I have never been more aware of the weaknesses in me.  You blended both together to create someone who believes a little more that You do love me just as I am, and that You want to flesh out what is not of You, so that Your light can shine all the brighter.

There have been many laughs, some tears, and countless memories made.  I wouldn’t trade any of them for anything in the world.  Each moment – a step closer to You.  This year, in particular, stretched me farther than I thought I could without breaking.  However, I broke and am broken.  Losing my dad in the midst of the work You set before me, and my husband’s surgery, my mother-in-law’s cancer and my back injury and the necessary work on our home in the midst of the chaos, You heard every doubt I had about doing a good job with the task You gave me.  I came to the end of myself emotionally every single day, but not once did You leave me feeling alone.

You moved heaven and earth to show me, in small and large ways, that You see, You hear, You know – and You know how to meet the need.  Through the loving, kind words and deeds of others, You whispered to me, This is from Me, too.

The chapter on this season is closing.  I find myself wondering what is next?  I want to know, but then again, I am a little afraid to ask.  Ignorance is bliss, right?  Perhaps I won’t ask You, and find peace in You revealing it in Your time.

I will miss these days.  Terribly.  I will always doubt how well I did my job, but I will never doubt how well You did Yours.

I trust that Your checklist is complete, though mine isn’t.    But then again, mine will never be – perfectionist that I am.  You are Grace.  Mercy.  Love.  Those three truths about You cover what I feel are my failures.

I have learned so much about You, life and Your plan over the last three years.  Ephesians 3:17-19 have truly come to life in my life on this journey -

…And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,  may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,  and to know this love that surpasses knowledge —that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 

I have learned that Your will really does precede mine, even when I push for what I want.  You work for our best interest, and sometimes that required trust to have faith in Your plan.  You taught me the depth of John 3:30 -

He must become greater; I must become less.

You even reiterated a Scripture many of us would like to skip over, Philippians 2:14 -

Do everything without complaining or arguing,

You kept Your promise in James 1:5 -

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 

I celebrate You, God, and that we made it to the finish line – together.  You have been my Coach, Manager, and Cheerleader.  The work You have done is amazing.  I sit and marvel at the beautiful finish You have given me the privilege to see.

I choose to rest in knowing that You will provide for me on the days when I want to run back to this race instead of the next one that waits for me.  When I stop and think about how much I will miss parts of this journey, my heart swells and a huge lump forms in my throat.  I think to myself, I can’t take the next step.  I want things to stay just as they are.  But they can’t because we are different people now and thus, You have a different race for us to run.

You are moving on to the next venture, and I must willingly pack up my memories, wrap them with tender heartstrings, and carry them as I follow You.

I choose to stay obedient to You, Lord.  It’s not easy sometimes, because my heart gets in the way.  I have such a hard time of letting go what I hold so dear, but You say to hold out an empty hand in expectancy of what next You will bring.  I guess it’s hard for me because moments like this remind me just how short life is and how fast it moves.

But then again, with that I am also reminded that this life is not all there is.  There is another place, another home, another life waiting for me.  One that will never end.  Thank You.

So, God, here we are.  A day of celebration of what You have done – and what we have done together.  Thank You for these years, months, days and moments.  Thank You for letting me keep the memories of them as I pack up what is no longer needed, to make room for what You are bringing next in this amazing race.

I choose to trust You.  You know the ways in which I need to feel Your presence most, and You are faithful.  Psalm 117:1-2 tells me so -

Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples.  For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.

Praise You, I will.  Gladly.  You have given me three of the best years of my life!  Not without hardship, heartache and a lot of hard work, but full of Your presence, joy, peace and faithfulness.  You are so good.

I give You this day of celebration.  You gave today to me, and I offer it back to You as an offering of these years.  May Your love shine bright, Your peace overflow and the magnificence of Your resplendent goodness be the energy of every moment, word and deed.

Precious Lord, the book of Jude says best what my heart feels, verses 24 & 25.  Thank You…for everything.

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.  

Crossroads of trust

(C) by http://www.martin-liebermann.de

You may buy prints or posters from zeitspuren.deviantart.com Kind regards Martin Liebermann license@martin-liebermann.de http://www.martin-liebermann.de

*********************************************************************************************************************************

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. ~ Proverbs 3:5-6

What do we do when something unexpected comes up in our lives?  We didn’t ask for it, nor are prepared for it.  It’s not necessarily a bad thing, and could even be a good thing, but because we didn’t write it on our agenda it shakes us up.  How do we make decisions about it?  How do we pray about it?

I am extremely purpose-driven.  I took a personality test many years ago that nailed me.  It said that if I believe in something, I will give it my 100%.  But, if I don’t believe in it, then I find it nearly impossible to do it.  Oh my!  This test was so right!  It explains all of the decisions I’ve made in my life.

As manager of our house (my husband is the leader, but I manage most of the daily affairs), I project, plan and prepare.  Those three p’s keep our home running smoothly most of the time. Then, the unexpected happens.  How do I handle it?  Where does it fit?  How does it fit?  Can I support it? Believe in it?  Do it?

The bigger question, is…do I believe He who is over all things in my life? If something is from God, whether I exepcted it or not, or wanted it or not, I must trust Romans 8:28,

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Ouch.  There it is.  His purposes – not mine.  I’ll be honest and say some things have come up that have altered my agenda.  Some I see as good. Some not so good.  And some – I don’t know how I feel about them yet.

I get all twisted up when trying to manage an agenda that has question marks written all over the plans.  I try to think of every possible scenario of how these unknowns fit into our family’s puzzle.  I can’t.  I don’t have all of the information.  That really bothers me!  I am a big-picture girl.  Let me see the end product, and then we can work out a plan to get there.

This thinking is seldom how God operates.  Why?  Because if we could see the bigger picture, #1 we may or may not like what we see and therefore we will either bulldoze the quickest path to the outcome or be purposefully disobedient to stave it off.  Either way, our hands are all over it – not God’s.  #2 – Seeing the bigger picture requires no trust on our part.  Trust draws us near to God.  He didn’t create us to be mindless robots. There are hundreds of decisions we make every day.  But, some stuff requires trust, because trust forces us to pry our hands off of the situation and surrender control.  Ug.  That is hard.

When praying for a friend today, I realized I needed the same prayer!  It went something like this:

Dear Lord, please give my friend eyes to see You, ears to hear You, a mind to understand what You are asking her to do, hands & feet to do it, and a heart to accept it.  Oh, and a big dose of courage would be great, too.

I forget that talking to God about my concerns isn’t necessarily doubting Him.  He is big enough to handle our questions.  He knows our hearts, and therefore He urges us to talk things over with Him.  It’s okay.  He also knows we are human.  Dust breathed to life.  If you’re like me, we shy away from God because approaching Him with feelings, questions, and concerns makes us feel guilty – like we don’t have enough faith.  But, it is times exactly like these that grow our faith.  If we avoid the journey of communicating with God, we miss the opportunity to stretch and strengthen our faith on the path He has chosen for us.

As I was exercising this morning, I talked to God much like I would my husband.  Plain English, nothing fancy, and just told Him my thoughts, concerns, opinions and feelings.  Because of this time with God, I am reminded He is in charge, He loves us, and is working for His glory and our best interest.  And, nothing I talked to Him about is mine to ultimately control and destine. What a weight off of my shoulders!

Believers walk in the path crafted by God.  We didn’t create the path.  We follow it.  May all of us have the courage, strength and audacious faith to take the first step.

I could…

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.  ~ Hebrews 4:14-16

Good Thursday morning,

Today, I could tell you that I woke up with my stomach in knots.  But, I didn’t.  I could tell you that I am worried sick over today’s events, but I’m not.  I could tell you that I’m freaking out inside over walking a familiar road – one I never wanted to walk again.  But, I won’t.

Today, a beloved family member is having surgery.  Surgery that makes my skin crawl and tempts me to throw hope out the window and only listen to statistics. Surgery that possesses the power to completely alter the future of our family.  I have a personal, deep-seeded hatred for the disease that necessitates this surgery.

How do we respond when life brings an unwanted package to our door?  We didn’t ask for it, order it or want it.  It sits at our door nonetheless, and no one is able to take it away.  It must be accepted.  It must be opened.  What do we do?

Well, we could deny its existence, but that doesn’t lessen the reality of it.  We could sit and stare at it, but that gets us nowhere.  We could try to discard it, but it’s too heavy to lift.  Dear Lord, what do we do?

What we won’t do is cave.  We won’t crumble under helplessness.  We won’t give in to worry.  We won’t admit defeat before the battle has barely begun.  We won’t hysterically throw our hands up in the air and lose our senses.  We won’t shake an angry fist at God saying, It’s all Your fault!

We pray.  Oh, I am not talking about the cliche Christian answer to life’s problems.  I’m talking about tapping into the Holy Spirit inside us to intercede on our loved one’s behalf (Romans 8:26).  We call on the authority in the name of Jesus Christ, to proclaim God’s sovereignty over our loved one (2 Corinthians 12:9).  We exercise our faith muscle knowing God sees all and is in all.  We call on Christ as our High Priest to intercede for her.  We, with boldness because of salvation and grace, approach the throne room of God and ask for the sparing our loved one’s life.

Our family’s strength and sanity is wrapped in the goodness of God despite the circumstances.  We know He is passionate about our loved one.  We know He never takes His eyes off of her.  More than coming up with feelgood statements, or reaching for some false hope that the world tries to wrap as truth, we stand on God’s Truth.  Real, solid, biblical Truth.

We’re praying Scripture over our loved one today.  If you’ve never done this before, it’s basically personalizing Scripture in the form of prayer.  It is not changing the context of the Scripture itself, rather it helps give us words when we can find none of our own.  Let’s go…

* Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with (Salli) wherever (she goes).”  Joshua 1:9

* Even to (Salli’s) old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain (her). I have made (her) and I will carry (her); I will sustain (her) and I will rescue (her). Isaiah 46:4

* May your unfailing love rest upon (Salli), O LORD, even as (she puts her) hope in you.  Psalm 33:22

* ‘“The LORD bless (Salli) and keep (her);  the LORD make his face shine upon (her) and be gracious to (her); the LORD turn his face toward (her) and give (her) peace.” Numbers 6:24-27

* …And I pray that (Salli), being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,  and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that (she) may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  Ephesians 3:17-19
* (Salli ) lives by faith, not by sight.  2 Corinthians 5:7

* God speaking – “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?  Though she may forget, I will not forget (Salli)!  See, I have engraved (her) on the palms of my hands; (her) walls are ever before me.  Isaiah 49:15-16

* Keep (Salli) as the apple of your eye; hide (her) in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 17:8
* God speaking – “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9
***********************************
The following is Scripture that Salli is claiming for her life.  She shared it with us, and I am sharing it with you.  
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”  When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”  John 11: 1-4
Only God knows the future.  We know He is good all the time and nothing happens that hasn’t passed through His hands first.  He doesn’t create bad and evil events, but He does provide a redemptive plan for them.  Please listen to me.  God promises His children absolute healing.  This healing will either be in our lifetime or in the one to come.  We have prayed for Salli and released her into God’s hands.  She WILL see healing.  We ask that it be now, in this body, selfishly for our benefit because we love her, but also so she can continue to share her story of what God has already done for His glory through this illness.  As believers in Christ, our lives are not our own.  We relinquished all control when we accepted Christ as Savior.  We know He is always working for our good.  I think we get tripped up when our definition of good does not match God’s definition. After all, our definitions of “good” can differ person to person throughout the world.  There is only one God, and He is good in the most holy, pure, omnipotent, faithful, loving, tender and righteous way.  We rest in who He is and in knowing He loves Salli even more than we do.  As the old hymn sings, it is well with my soul.
<<Check out two companion songs to this post on my Tunes page!>>
My personal prayer for Salli.  Psalm 139: 1-18

 1 O LORD, you have searched (Salli)
and you know (her).
2 You know when (she) sits and when (she) rises;
you perceive (her) thoughts from afar.
3 You discern (her) going out and (her) lying down;
you are familiar with all (her) ways.
4 Before a word is on (her) tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

5 You hem (Salli) in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon (her).
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can (Salli) go from your Spirit?
Where can (she) flee from your presence?
8 If (she) goes up to the heavens, you are there;
if (she) makes (her) bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If (she) rises on the wings of the dawn,
if (she) settles on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide (her),
your right hand will hold (her) fast.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide (her)
and the light become night around (her),”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created (Salli’s) inmost being;
you knit (her) together in (her) mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because (she) is fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 (Her) frame was not hidden from you
when (she) was made in the secret place.
When (she) was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw (her) unformed body.
All the days ordained for (her)
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

17 How precious to (us) are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were (we) to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When (Salli) awakes,  (she) is still with you.