Prayer - A Great Gift for Others

My little sister, deceased since 2009 at age 69, was on my mind today. She spent her final four years in a long term care center. Her issues included severe diabetes, severe arthritis, Parkinsons and Bipolar episodes. These were complicated by her short term memory loss. She had suffered that for at least 30 years due to a brain aneurysm surgery.

In spite of this, when the Bipolar issue was reasonably quiet, she was a fun person to know. I really miss my little sis. That said, today I was remembering her habit of praying for others.

Before the long term care center, while she still lived, alone, in her little rented bungalow, she had already developed a habit of praying for friends and loved ones. After a while, her "mental" list grew to more than a dozen and she decided to write down their names on a 3x5 card. She kept this up when she entered long term care.

At that point, her short term memory loss made the written note important to her but her Parkinsons made her handwriting very tiny and very hard to read. One day, in one of our daily phone calls (she was in CA and I was in NV), she asked me to type (print) a fresh card for her. She mailed her handwritten copy and I typed up a fresh one immediately and sent it right back to her. I revised her list many times in that four years.

One day, she mentioned that she felt useless in the center. I let her talk it all out and then I realized I had something to offer her. I reminded her that she was not useless. She had time these days to say prayers for all those on her little list. It had now grown to over 80 names, 20 on each side of two cards stapled together. I reminded her that she was doing something for them that most folks did not have time to do and that many folks would never even bother to do. She was giving them a wonderful gift. She had never even given those prayers a thought. She just knew they were needed and she offered them. She felt better when we hung up.

Today, while I enjoyed that memory, I reminded myself that praying for others is one of the greatest gifts we can give another human being. I don't want to ever forget that. Thank you, Betty, for teaching your big sister something special.

Sweet Jesus, thank you for all the times you gave us good example by your own prayers to the Father.