An Index Card Prayer

“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father…” Matthew 6:6

As we continue to run full-board out of 2021, I tend to reflect on the landscape of the last 365 days. There have such great moments in the past year for our family, but certainly the peppering of heartbreak was also sprinkled throughout the year. I’ve never been a person who dwells on the past, but I don’t say this with pride. Being a middle child, I’ve always sought harmony so the thought of re-living chaotic and sad times has no lure for me. But the older I get the more I see that considering our tough times is a form of worship because it is proof positive that God moved us through it and out of it. It reminds me of when my grandchildren’s dad unexpectedly died over seven years ago.

A few years after he died, I was over at my daughter’s house babysitting the kids for the weekend. I followed Kherington upstairs to say prayers with her and tuck her in. On her bed was an index card taped to the frame that was a prayer which I will never forget. She was thanking God for the family she still had. She was trusting God to care for her dad while in Heaven. She was affirming that God is still good and worthy for her belief in Him.

Gratitude...trust...belief. These are the things I want as my companions as I move through the threshold and into the year of 2022. I have always considered her little index card prayer to be a broken hallelujah which we can offer. A commitment to continue talking to God despite our broken hearts...a discipline to name the things for which we are grateful instead of focusing on what we do not have...a firm belief that God is who He says He was no matter what happens.

My broken hallelujah is for my precious friend Micki who now walks the streets of Heaven. With a broken heart, I shout joy for her as she is perfectly healed and will never be sick again. With a broken heart for my friends who lost parents and siblings, I praise God that they were all Christians and are now living where we will one day join them. I shout hallelujah with a broken heart for our country, but a firm belief that God will light the fire of revival in 2022.

There are so many blessings that God is giving us daily, but we are not guaranteed a life without troubles. I pray in 2022 we are able to walk the balance of pain and joy...heartbrokenness and acceptance...discouragement and faith. May we all approach our Father with a child’s heart and an index card prayer of a broken hallelujah.