Multitude Monday

Last night I dreamed that myself and friends had been kidnapped by a woman and were sitting in a living room. We were allowed to get up and walk around and some were performing normal activities to try and let the kidnapper know that she wasn't rattling them. In my dream, I felt God nudge me to ask her if I could pray for her. And I did. I prayed that God would bless her and help her with whatever issue was going on in her life to cause her to resort to kidnapping. And then I woke up. 

Weird, huh? I have all kinds of wacky dreams, but this one made me think about prayer. And more specifically praying for those who want to cause us harm or who we perceive as our enemies. Do we pray for them? And I'm not talking about praying that they would no longer cause us harm or that God would take them out. I mean do we pray for their lives and that God would heal their hurts. That He would reveal Himself to them. Pray that He would show up and encourage and bless them that day.

That's a little harder, isn't it? I struggle with this. I often would love God to swoop in and put them in their place. And yet, when Jesus was hanging on the cross He said, "Forgive them for they do not know what they are doing." He interceded for the very people who beat him, tortured him and hung him on that tree. 

Because Christ lives in me, I too can pray for those who hurt me. I am able to pray that God would bless them. And I am able to ask the Lord to not just forgive them, but to forgive me.

And that is reason to give thanks.

This week I'm thankful for blessings #4,001 - 4,014.

4001. I am thankful that I made it safely to North Carolina and back. The weather was decent and I had safety while driving.

4002. My brother-in-law, sister and I worked hard and were able to do what we needed to do in 3 1/2 days instead of week or more.

4003. Dinner out with friends while we were there.

4004. Finding artwork and handiwork that my mother did around her house and finding a home for it in my house.

4005. A jewelry box my mom had since I was a child and now I have it to remind me of her.

4006. Stephen popped in for a surprise visit to watch football with Dan.

4007. A productive weekend. I got 2 major things checked off my list and got a good start on the third item.

4008. I've been finding little tidbits of family history as I sort through boxes for my uncle. I found an article about women and woodworking from the 60s. My grandmother was one of the women featured in it. I've found tons of writing from my grandmother and discovered she was quite gifted that way. Love having these bits of history.

4009. Beautiful flowers to brighten up an otherwise bare room now that the decorations are put away.

4010. Our car went kaput after having over 250,000 miles on it. I'm thankful that it lasted so long and that we were able to find an affordable used car.

4011. Nathan finally was able to meet with the agency for adults with disabilities who is providing him a job coach and is feeling good about that. It's been such a long wait due to Covid.

4012. Dan's football team is doing great this year after an 18 year losing streak. I don't care about football and I do not understand how people get so worked up over a silly game, but I am thankful that my husband who has been a loyal fan is getting a bit of joy right now.  Go Browns! :-)

4013. I'm thankful for a quiet start to my week. We slept in this morning, it's Dan's day off and we have nothing on the schedule.

and finally...

4014. God helps with the hard things such as praying for those who hurt us.