Sunday, May 30, 2010

I saw my name in my mother's prayer journal...

I have been reading over some of my mother's journals. Most of you probably already know she was a minister's wife, raising the 3 of us through the years, often while dad was traveling and preaching. Now that she and dad are in heaven, I find myself reaching for what they both wrote down through their lifetimes. I have several of her journals and many of my dad's writings, some in book form.

Everything they wrote is dear to me... but when I saw MY name in her prayer journals, many times over, it struck deep into my own heart.

I know that some of her deepest lessons in faith came from trusting God for the 3 of us as her children. Some of the places where I see my name... when I needed God's correction and she needed His help... when she asked for specific guidance in how to handle a struggle, or when she was trying to reach a teenage girls heart and needed His strength ... another place was when I had Spinal Menningitis and the question of whether I would live or die was up to God. She knew that, and she surrendered my life to Him during those days. She told me later that she literally had to 'give me up', to the Lord not knowing if I would live or die.

It's all there, hand written in her journals, there are even some blurs where I have no doubt a tear fell...

The places where my name appears, were added to and crossed out through the years. Much later, our children's names were added to those books.... I can tell you that one of the things all 3 of us found that we missed the most, after they went to heaven, was KNOWING THAT THEY WERE PRAYING FOR US!!! ... I always knew they prayed for us, but when those prayers were gone from this life, we felt such a sense of loss. It's as though our 'safety net' had gone with them...

I'm so thankful that through the years, my mom and I were able to share many of those prayer requests... and the answers.

The reason I share this is to remind each of you, and myself, that OUR prayers for our children matter! They matter to us, to our children, and mostly, they matter to God. He hears the heart of His own, and He responds to those precious prayers, every single one of them!

So don't be discouraged if you haven't yet seen the results you so long for. He is listening, and every desire of your heart as a mom, dad or grandparent is being recorded in HIS book!

But the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord are from everlasting to everlasting upon those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, and His righteousness is to children's children--To such as keep His covenant [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it] and to those who [earnestly] remember His commandments to do them [imprinting them on their hearts]. (
Psalm 103:17,18 Amplified)



29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, oh, oh! How wonderful to be able to see this! What a treasure!!!

manthano said...

I share your joy in having Christian parents.
My father was a pastor, it seemed to me,
all his life. How many times I have had to
thank God for the parents he gave me.
Enjoyed the post.
THANKS.

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

The exact opposite reason for KEEPING a journal and not burning it! I imagine these to be very precious to you. I don't keep a journal these days; I suppose my blog is one way of tracking my faith for my kids. I do have gobs of notebooks filled with study notes, etc. I've never been very good at keeping a prayer journal, but it's something I'd like to explore more in the season to come.

I was reminded again today that I want to be a woman of deep conviction and, thus, a woman on my knees... daily. This confirms the prompt in my spirit that's been working its way into my soul this day.

peace~elaine

sister sheri said...

What a wonderful legacy! We thought the same thing when my husband's grandmother passed away... who will take up the prayer mantel for the family? So, we did. Thanks for the encouragement!

myletterstoemily said...

thank you, sonja, for the sweet encouragement
to pray, pray, PRAY! i have been in constant
prayer for one of mine, and this just reinforced
my determination.

i also know that i have to keep up the last part
of the verse, too!

Rita said...

How encouraging to hear this. Sometimes we feel like our prayers are not being answered, especially when it pertains to our children. But He is always listening and sometimes He gives us answers that we are not expecting or don't want because they are going our way! He is good.

Andrea said...

Sonja, this post is a beautiful tribute to your mother and a great encouragement to every parent who reads about her and your father.

Your words have surely blessed me tonight. I pray for my children each day, and they are always on my heart, for I so want them to serve God with all their hearts.

I am also thinking of my mom and her prayers. She is 78, and she prays for us every day, and I will one day miss her and her prayers.

Thank you so much for sharing.

God bless, and I appreciate your comments on my last post. God is good!

Much love,

Andrea

Debbie Petras said...

How blessed you are Sonja to have your parents' journals. How wonderful to see your name written in her prayer journal. I'm sure she prayed much for you and your sister and brother.

It is a good reminder how precious and important our prayers are for our loved ones. I've kept journals for many years. I love when I have the opportunity to look back to see what I was praying for. I often find that God answered them but in ways but differently than I ever imagined.

Much love to you sister,
Debbie

Debra said...

Sonya,

How wonderful you have these journals of your mother. What a special Christian lady she must have been. One of the reasons I started a blog was so my grandchildren and children would know me a little better.

This post strikes to the heart of every mother and grandmother that prays for their children and grandchildren! Such an encouragement!

Blessings,
Debra

JBR said...

Sonja, this was very touching and truly beautiful. Thank you for sharing. Blessings.

Anonymous said...

Sonja, you are truly blessed having a Godly heritage. Thanks for sharing your mother's prayer journal.

Ron

Janettessage.blogspot.com said...

I kept putting off coming to this post because I would cry at the title.
The magnitude of being a mom and praying for my own children just brought tears to my eyes.
My grandmother has passed on and I have always wanted to read any of her writings...my grandfather was a pastor and I have wanted to read any of his sermons....nothing left that I know of.

What a precious post.......so encourages to me to write things down!!!!

Thanks as always....so blessed by stopping here,
Janette

beBOLDjen said...

Hello,

I meandered my way over here from Sassy Granny's blog. I was drawn in by the title of your post and loved it. I can only imagine what a treasure your mother's journals are to you. Thanks for sharing and encouraging us parents to persist in prayer.

Covnitkepr1 said...

Praise His name for Godly mothers who prayed for us.
Hi. I came across your blog through another blog I follow and have signed up as a follower. When you’re free, please do visit me and let me know what you think of my blog and leave a comment. If you like, do follow as well. I am always open to great new people and interesting websites. Look forward to hearing from you.

myletterstoemily said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Felisol said...

Dear Sonja,
You have a priceless treasure in these journals.
It must be so great to be reminded as an adult, how your mother fought and prayed for you and how highly she loved you.

The wonderful thing is, that even if your parents are home in heaven, prayers don't expire on date. They are as living before God's throne as the day they were said.
Even our tears are "gathered in his flask".
So feel blessed, dear Sonja, the prayers will never die.

When my daughter was little we would always pray together every evening.
I have not been able to teach or show her much of my greatness, (it simply isn't there), but
I know she brings about every little detail in her life to the throne of the Lord.
And less than a week ago, when she was in some rough weather, I had a handful of co-prayers I could call upon. The Lord led her miraculous through the trials, and we are all giving him the honor and price.

In fact, this may be the Lord's way of blessing our family; keeping us where we need him every step of the way!

Debbie said...

I just know the Lord lead me here to your blog this morning to give me SUCH a blessing. How I have missed your blog, I can't be sure. But it will definitely be one I visit from now on...I LOVE that you have those journals from your mom. How wonderful is that?? What a precious treasure. And I read a couple of your other posts as well and I just had to comment on the one before this. It was just soo good. And soo my heart. I read other bloggers sometimes and wondered "What in the world is wrong with me?" "Why do I continue to struggle and search and long to be more?" "Why do I still fear and do the same things sometimes over and over again?" I never want to be a stumbling block to another believer, and yet if I am being honest I DO struggle with all of these things...And yet, the Lord has done so much for me, and IS there for me, and LOVES me. He gives me the strength and the abilities that I need to cope with whatever this life dishes out, and praise God for that. I am really just a VERY ordinary woman with an extraordinary and wonderful God. Thanks for all of this...Have a wonderful day. BLESSINGS, Debbie

Loren said...

Sonya,

I am so glad to have found you. I have seen your sweet comments on others blogs but today when I saw the title of your post ~ I had to come visit :) What a precious post this is! and what a gift you have been given and are now giving to your own children and grandhchildren! I can understand being sad about having lost your "safety net" I was not raised in church nor did I have praying parents per se but as we have gone through different church situations that is how I felt when I lost certain church bodies. I know the importance it is for praying for our kids and hope that my children will continue on with their own children and so on! The legacy of Prayer! Bless you!

Tammy said...

This was beautiful. I do journal have since i was very young partly because I love writing letters to God and partly because I want my children to know after I am gone...how loved they are by God and me. Thanks for sharing this. It was just beautiful to my heart.

myletterstoemily said...

i deleted my comment, because it was really
more appropriate for an email.

"she can laugh at the days to come!" . . . and
herself!!! Proverbs 31:25b

Deborah Ann said...

What a beautiful legacy from your mom! Thanks for the encouragement. I really needed to hear that today. I have a few things I want God to do for my kids, and I haven't seen much happen as of yet...

TRUTH SHARER said...

Oh - How precious for you to behold the prayers your parents prayed over you - even just your name on those pages! Wow!

I do keep journals everyday filled with prayers and scripture and I do hope one day - my children or grandchildren will read them and pass on the legacy of God presence which is in each one.

PRAYER is the greatest GIFT we could ever give our children!

Choosing JOY, Stephanie

GwendolynKay said...

This is a touching post. I am constantly praying for my children. Just a week or so ago my mother gave me a prayer journal to use.
Remember the email I wrote to you about a bit back? That was what my "candle" post was based on... My wrong attitude about people and negative thoughts. The devil had me in quite a spot there for a bit, but God had turned that around.
Blessings always!
Gwen:)

LisaShaw said...

Dear friend,

Beautiful!!! I can relate to much of what you said as one who has kept journals that are filled with prayers, praises, struggles and more for my kids and myself and I'm thankful that one day they too will look back and read them...

What a blessing that you shared this precious part of your Mom with us.

I love you.

Bob West said...

I hope you enjoy my blog as much as I have yours.
Very insightful! I am now a follower.
God Bless, Bob West
http://westbob.blogspot.com/2010/05/god-vs-science.html

Crown of Beauty said...

I have scrolled down from the top to this post...and this is where I am leaving my comment. Loved all that you have written the past days, Sonja. Even the lovely pictures of the brides to be... in their own time. But what really catches my heart is this post about your mom's prayer journals, and how you felt safe knowing she and your dad were praying for you.

Yes, I absolutely agree in the power of a praying mom. Our children need our prayers and are counting on them. I'm sure that you have seen many answers to your own prayers in your children's lives. Didn't know you had spinal meningitis... well, obviously you survived, and I am sure that it was because your parents prayed so hard for you.

What a perfect reminder to me today of the importance of praying for our children.

Love
Lidj

Susan Nowell @ My Place to Yours said...

Oh, thank you, Sonja for reposting this! My children are grieving a tragedy today, and my heart is breaking for them. They've been through a lot of death in their young lives, and this is almost more than I can stand to see them have to bear. Thank you for reminding me that my prayers for them matter!

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

Reading this again brings tears to my eyes. One of my favorites as well, Sonja. What a good reminder to me that my words/prayers matter. Thanks.

peace~elaine

joy said...

Was so touched by this post. since I too writes my prayer journal. My prayers for my children. I hope that it will also inpires my children one day. Thanks for sharing this Sonja:)