Part of You must be very proud, to see how we’ve reached out to the world, and them to us, in spite of great pain

Heavenly Father,


My Christmas wish this year is very different from other times. I remember asking you for babies, a new house, a better job for my husband, security, things that seemed so very important at the time. Not this year. This year, for the first time, in a long while, my prayers are for others, people I don’t know. You see my Lord, since September 11th, the world has changed in so many ways. For that, I thank You.


The pain and shock, seeing so many lives taken in an instant, was more than I could bear. It almost broke me, until I turned it over to You. Still, the silent images of falling bodies will be with me forever. A silent, eerie, strangely graceful dance of death. We all changed that day in deeply significant ways. Because of that change, this is my Christmas prayer:



I wish that wanton murder in Your Name would cease… forever
I pray Israel and Palestine stop the wholesale slaughter of each other, and allow You to touch them with healing Grace.
I wish that no child in this world ever dies from hunger.
I pray that women the world over are finally treated with dignity and respect, not like cattle.
I wish the peoples of Afghanistan will finally see their war ravished country whole and well.
And I pray that our men and women, who are fighting a long, dangerous battle, to see the world rid of terrorism, come home safely. And that if not, that You are there, to carry them, safe in Your loving arms.



Prayers from a small soul, with a big ticket wish list, I know. Oh, there’s more, as I’m sure You know, an end to illegal drugs, murder, rape, racial prejudice and disease. But without the big ticket items, the rest is sort of moot, I think. Part of You must be very proud, to see how we’ve reached out to the world, and them to us, in spite of great pain. That we don’t blame You for this evil. Our gift to You, is showing you, how much we love and trust in Your goodness, Heavenly Father. That we believe in You, not in spite of, but because we recognize where this terrible act came from. Thank You for another day, another chance.